Verismo Therapeutics Expands Scientific Team to Advance its KIR-CAR Platform for the Treatment of Solid Tumors

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Apr 19, 2022, 08:30 ET

Company welcomes renowned leaders in cell therapy, Dr. Jun Xu and Raymond Luke

PHILADELPHIA, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Verismo Therapeutics, Inc., a recent Penn spin-out behind a novel naturally inducible multi-chain KIR-CAR platform technology for CAR T-cells, today announced the appointment of Dr. Jun Xu as Senior Director of Translational Science and Raymond Luke as Director of MSAT.

"Both Jun and Raymond bring extensive experience in CAR T therapy innovation, and we're thrilled to have them join our growing team," said Verismo Therapeutics' Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bryan Kim. "Their specialized backgrounds in immuno-oncology and manufacturing will serve as a strategic advantage as we advance towards our First-in-Human Clinical Trial for our KIR-CAR platform."

Dr. Xu has extensive experience from process development, drug product characterization to translational studies in T cell immunotherapy. She served as an Associate Director of translational research in Product Development Laboratory, Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Xu supervised process development and product characterization of both autologous and allogenic T cell therapy products in IND-enabling studies, contributing to successful IND submission. Her research focused on understanding of the resistance and response to CAR T therapy in patients as well as development of novel T cell activation strategies. More recently, she served as VP of Process Development and Clinical Studies at UTC Therapeutics where she created the department and established bioanalytical platforms for correlative studies including evaluating the efficacy and safety of cell therapy products in patients. Dr. Xu authored several manuscripts in the top journals including Nature Medicine, Nature, Blood and Seminars in Cancer Biology. Dr. Xu earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

"I have been in the cell therapy field working on novel T cell therapies for a decade, and it's clear to me that Verismo Therapeutics is doing something truly transformational," added Dr. Xu. "I look forward to contributing to the team making strides in improving efficacy against solid tumors."

Raymond Luke brings more than 10 years of experience in CMC. Prior to joining Verismo Therapeutics, Mr. Luke spent six years at Adaptimmune developing next generation cell therapies against solid tumor indications. He held leadership roles within CMC and was responsible for GMP manufacturing and technology transfer. He also led teams responsible for developing automated processing solutions, analytical development of commercial-ready assays and late-stage process characterization for afamitresgene autoleucel.

"I am honored to join Verismo and its team of world-class scientists on its mission to successfully treat solid tumors," said Raymond. "I am passionate about the truly unique way Verismo is approaching treating solid tumors with its KIR-CAR platform, and I look forward to establishing Verismo's manufacturing platform to match its current and future needs."

ABOUT VERISMO THERAPEUTICS
Verismo Therapeutics is a pioneer in naturally inducible multi-chain KIR-CAR T technology, on track to bring its first asset into First-in-Human clinical trials in 2023. Verismo is the only company developing the KIR-CAR platform, a revolutionary NK-like receptor designed to drastically improve persistence and efficacy against the most aggressive solid tumors. This technology was developed at Penn by the team behind Kymriah™, the first approved CAR T-cell therapy. The KIR-CAR platform technology was developed specifically for advanced solid tumors, the area of high unmet medical need where no other cell therapies have yet shown meaningful efficacy in clinical trials. For More information, visit: www.verismotherapeutics.com

ABOUT KIR-CAR PLATFORM
The KIR-CAR platform is the first naturally inducible multi-chain CAR T cell therapy, capable of maintaining antitumor T-cell activity even in the most challenging solid tumor environments. Based on Natural Killer Cell receptors, KIR-CAR provides a natural on-and-off stimulation to the T-cell, without triggering T cell exhaustion. DAP12 signaling chains aid additional T-cell stimulating pathways, further improving cell persistence. This continued function and persistence can lead to ongoing regression of solid tumors, including those refractory to traditional CAR T-cell therapies. Furthermore, the KIR-CAR platform can be partnered with many additional emerging technologies, such as in-vivo gene editing, advanced T cell selection, combination therapies, and allogeneic cellular therapies to provide an adaptable tumor-targeting therapy for patients in need.

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SOURCE Verismo Therapeutics