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Inovio is a biotechnology company focused on rapidly bringing to market precisely designed DNA medicines to treat, cure, and protect people from diseases associated with HPV, cancer, and infectious diseases. Inovio is the first and only company to have clinically demonstrated that a DNA medicine can be delivered directly into cells in the body via a proprietary smart device to safely produce a robust immune response to destroy and clear high-risk HPV 16 and 18, which are responsible for 70% of cervical cancer, 90% of anal cancer and 69% of vulvar cancer. In addition to HPV, Inovio`s optimized plasmid design and delivery technology have been demonstrated to consistently activate robust and fully functional T cell and antibody responses against targeted cancers and pathogens. Inovio`s most advanced clinical program, VGX-3100, is in Phase 3 development for the treatment of HPV-related cervical pre-cancer. Also in development are Phase 2 immuno-oncology programs targeting HPV-related cancers, GBM, and prostate cancer, as well as externally funded vaccine development programs in Zika, MERS, Lassa, HIV, and COVID-19. Partners and collaborators include Advaccine, ApolloBio Corporation, AstraZeneca, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, GeneOne Life Science, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC), National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Plumbline Life Sciences, Regeneron, Roche/Genentech, University of Pennsylvania, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and The Wistar Institute. Inovio also is a proud recipient of 2020 Women on Boards “W” designation recognizing companies with more than 20% women on their board of directors.
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is a prominent American pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing, and marketing medicines and vaccinations for pets and livestock. Established in 1954 as a division of Eli Lilly and Company, Elanco became an independent entity in 2018 and has since grown to be one of the largest independent animal health companies worldwide. The acquisition of Bayer Animal Health in 2020 significantly expanded its size and global reach. Elanco offers a wide range of products aimed at enhancing animal health and productivity. This includes pharmaceuticals and vaccines for livestock and companion animals, nutritional solutions to improve feed efficiency, and data analytics through its Elanco Knowledge Solutions division. The company serves a diverse customer base, including farmers, veterinarians, pet owners, and agricultural stakeholders, all dedicated to improving animal health and food quality. Elancos mission emphasizes the importance of food and companionship in enriching life, reflecting its commitment to animal welfare and innovation in the animal health sector.
EpiVax Oncology is developing precision cancer immunotherapies based on mutanome-directed neo-epitopes, selected using proprietary and validated in silico predictive algorithms. Neo-epitopes are mutated and tumor specific epitopes, recognized as non-self, capable of generating highly potent specific T cell immunogenic responses against tumors, translating in improved clinical outcome. EpiVax Oncology is developing neo-epitope based therapeutic vaccines customized and specifically designed for each cancer patient, based on the genetic profiling (using next generation DNA sequencing) of each patient`s unique tumor and normal genome sequence (the mutanome). EpiVax Oncology`s ultimate purpose is to address major unmet medical needs inadequately addressed by other oncology and immuno-oncology treatments which are either only benefiting a very limited subset of patients, or prone to adverse events, or extremely costly and complex to manufacture. EpiVax Oncology`s ambition is to become a premier cancer precision medicine company, leveraging EpiVax`s world class excellence in computational-immunology, genomics and vaccine design, built over the last 20 years.
Kezar co-founder Christopher Kirk, Ph.D. began his work on the unique function of the immunoproteasome at Proteolix in 2005, while working on the compound that would become the successful multiple myeloma drug KYPROLIS™ (carfilzomib). As VP of Research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, which acquired Proteolix in 2009, Christopher led the efforts to develop the first selective inhibitors of the immunoproteasome and designed multiple studies demonstrating their profound immunomodulatory effects. In parallel with this work, Christopher and Kezar co-founder Jack Taunton, Ph.D. collaborated on several research projects involving protein secretion. This collaboration inspired a belief in the strong synergies between protein degradation and protein secretion, two fertile areas for drug discovery with platform potential. In 2014, Christopher and Kezar co-founder John Fowler began developing the business plan for Kezar, acting on a longstanding desire to work together and build a world-class company. In 2015, John and Christopher raised $23M and negotiated a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Amgen for the Onyx immunoproteasome inhibitor patent estate. Now underway, John and Christopher are excited to leverage their complementary skill sets to build Kezar into a leader in small molecule drug development.
TYME is an emerging biotechnology company developing cancer therapeutics that are intended to be broadly effective across tumor types and have low toxicity profiles.