FURTHER UPDATE ON USAMRIID CHALLENGE AND ADDITIONAL EUROPEAN PATENT GRANTED FOR VAXIL’S ANTICANCER ANTIBODY PLATFORM
NESS-ZIONA, Israel, Feb. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VAXIL BIO LTD. (“Vaxil” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE: VXL), an innovative immunotherapy biotech company specializing in cancer and infectious diseases, is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Berelowitz has been appointed as special advisor to its board.
Dr. Michael Berelowitz, formerly Pfizer’s Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs (Specialty Care), has enjoyed a 50+ year career in the biomedical sciences across the clinical practice of medicine, basic and clinical research and teaching, along with senior responsibilities in administration, budget management, and people leadership in academia and pharmaceutical companies/industry settings. Michael has also served on company boards, including public companies. This diverse experience provides Michael with a unique and valuable understanding of the world's biopharmaceuticals and their future. Dr. Berelowitz’s full bio is detailed below.
Dr. Berelowitz has been granted 125,000 stock options (the "Options") pursuant to the Company's stock option plan, exercisable into an equal amount of common shares in the capital of the Company (“Common Shares”) at an exercise price of CAD $0.42 per Common Share. The Options vest in four equal installments, with the first installment on March 31, 2021, and the subsequent installments on June 30, 2021, September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2021 respectively. All the Options expire on February 1, 2026.
The company further updates that the USAMRIID experiment is proceeding on schedule, including the COVID-19 challenge, which was administered late last week.
The Company further advises that it has successfully obtained a European patent for its anticancer antibody platform - European Patent EP2756307B1 entitled “Antibodies directed against signal peptides, methods and uses thereof”. This granted patent provides broad patent protection for an antibody for use in the treatment of a MUC1 expressing cancer, as well as for an ex vivo method of diagnosing cancer in a subject and an ex vivo method for determining the suitability for treatment of a subject suffering from a MUC1 expressing cancer. Kits for practicing these methods are also included. This patent strengthens Vaxil Bio’s broad patent coverage with regards to its proprietary anti-cancer and anti-pathogenic portfolio.
“We are very pleased to welcome Michael as a special advisor to our board. His extensive and relevant experience will significantly add to our talented team of executives and scientists. I am excited to be able to bring his medical background together with business acumen to support our portfolio and future growth as we progress through preclinical and future clinical phases,” said David Goren, Vaxil’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and continued, “the granting of an additional European patent bolsters our already robust patent portfolio and demonstrates our commitment to further expand our pipeline across oncology and infectious diseases.”
