SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:FPRX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel protein therapeutics for cancer and inflammatory diseases, announced the appointments of Dr. Bruce Blazar, Dr. Lewis L. Lanier, Dr. Antoni Ribas and Dr. Suzanne L. Topalian to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“We are honored to have assembled an accomplished team of scientific advisors over the years and are extremely pleased to welcome these new distinguished thought leaders in immuno-oncology,” said Lewis T. "Rusty" Williams, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Five Prime. “Each has dedicated his or her academic career to pioneering breakthroughs that have advanced this field. Their collective scientific and clinical knowledge will help Five Prime prioritize how we apply our unique discovery platform and prioritize our development opportunities for novel immuno-oncology therapeutics to improve the lives of patients.”
The new members of the scientific advisory board include:
Bruce Blazar, M.D., is a Regents Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Vice Dean for Clinical Research in the Medical School at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Blazar has directed preclinical basic and translational immunology and stem cell research and early phase clinical studies for more than 30 years, with particular emphasis in blood and marrow transplantation immunobiology. Dr. Blazar has received an NIH MERIT Award, the ASH Ernest Beutler prize and lectureship, and the Till and McCulloch Lecture Award from the Canadian Blood and Marrow Transplant Group.
Lewis L. Lanier, Ph.D., is an American Cancer Society Professor, Chair at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and is leader of the Cancer, Immunity, and Microenvironment Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Lanier is a leading immunologist. He was awarded the William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic Tumor Immunology from the Cancer Research Institute in 2002 and received the Rose Payne Award for contributions to Immunogenetics by the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics in 2005. He was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2010, was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011.
Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Medicine, Professor of Surgery and Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Director of the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA. Dr. Ribas is a physician-scientist who conducts laboratory and clinical research in malignant melanoma, focusing on gene-engineered adoptive cell transfer (ACT) therapies, anti-CTLA4 antibodies, anti-PD-1 antibodies, BRAF and MEK inhibitors and nanoparticle-siRNA. His NIH, State of California and private foundation-supported research laboratory develops models of disease to test new therapeutic options and studies mechanism of action of treatments in patients.
Suzanne L. Topalian, M.D., is Professor of Surgery and Oncology and Director of the Melanoma Program, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Topalian is a physician-scientist whose studies of human anti-tumor immunity have provided a foundation for the translational development of cancer vaccines, adoptive T cell transfer and immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies. Her current research focuses on manipulating immune checkpoints such as PD-1 in cancer therapy, and discovering biomarkers predicting clinical outcomes. Dr. Topalian was named one of Nature’s 10 in 2014, and received the Karnofsky Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2015.
The new members join the current members of Five Prime’s scientific advisory board:
- Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Southwest Medical School;
- Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D., Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center;
- Ronald Levy, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine;
- Drew M. Pardoll, MD, Ph.D., Abeloff Professor of Oncology, Director, Cancer Immunology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine;
- Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., Physician in Chief and Director of Translational Research, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Phoenix, Arizona; and
- Arthur Weiss, M.D. Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
To read the full biographies please click here.
About Five Prime
Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. discovers and develops innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with serious diseases. Five Prime’s comprehensive discovery platform, which encompasses virtually every medically relevant extracellular protein, positions it to explore pathways in cancer, inflammation and their intersection in immuno-oncology, an area with significant therapeutic potential and a growing focus of the company’s R&D activities. Five Prime has entered into strategic collaborations with leading global pharmaceutical companies and has promising product candidates in clinical and preclinical development. For more information, please visit www.fiveprime.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Five Prime’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Five Prime’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the “Risk Factors” contained therein. Except as required by law, Five Prime assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.