SAN JOSE, Calif. and HERZLIYA, Israel, April 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myrtle Potter & Company announced today that it has been retained by IMMUNE Pharmaceuticals as an advisor for their NanomAb Antibody Drug Conjugate product portfolio. Myrtle Potter & Company is the advisory firm of Myrtle Potter, former COO and president of Commercial Operations at Genentech. As part of the collaboration, Myrtle Potter & Company has engaged Suzy Jones, who is currently managing partner of DNA Ink and formerly headed business development at Genentech. Suzy Jones will assume the role of Chief Business Development Officer at IMMUNE. Ms. Jones, who has orchestrated important intellectual property-based licensing and business deals during her tenure at Genentech will focus primarily on identifying and structuring new strategic relationships with oncology companies throughout the industry.
Myrtle Potter & Company and IMMUNE Pharmaceuticals share a commitment to advance the scientific understanding of novel solutions to treat cancer. "We are glad to be supporting IMMUNE's efforts to secure partnerships for its impressive NanomAb portfolio. IMMUNE's new generation of antibody drug conjugates offers great promise for bringing meaningful cancer drugs to patients," said Myrtle Potter, CEO of Myrtle Potter and Company.
NanomAbs are conjugates of monoclonal antibodies and drug-loaded nanoparticles. Their primary application is to allow for the delivery of effective micro-doses of cytotoxic drugs into tumor cells. The nanoparticles allow for localization in the tumor tissue through the leaky vasculature while the antibodies enhance internalization into the cancer cells.
"NanomAbs bring new therapeutic options for cancer patients by improving the efficacy to safety ratio and by expanding to indications not previously available to either the cytotoxic or the antibody alone," said Dr. Daniel Teper, founder and chief executive officer of IMMUNE Pharmaceuticals.
"The IMMUNE portfolio of NanomAbs has been followed by the industry for quite some time. I am pleased to be participating in this collaborative effort to advance the business development goals of IMMUNE," said Suzy Jones.
IMMUNE licensed its NanomAb technology from Yissum, the Technology Transfer Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where it collaborates with Professor Simon Benita, head of the School of Pharmacy and director of the Institute for Drug Research. IMMUNE is now developing several NanomAbs using its proprietary monoclonal antibodies and cytotoxic formulations.
About Myrtle Potter & Company
Myrtle Potter & Company, LLC, is a Silicon Valley based life science and healthcare advisory firm with clients that include global public and private healthcare corporations. The firm is known for devising novel business strategies and accelerating revenue growth and profitability of their clients.
About IMMUNE Pharmaceuticals
IMMUNE Pharmaceuticals is an Israel and U.S. based biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of next generation monoclonal antibodies addressing significant unmet medical needs in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer. IMMUNE Pharmaceuticals has built a robust pipeline of clinical and pre-clinical candidates based on novel targets and best-in-class antibody technologies.