SAN DIEGO– Immunicom, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering subtractive therapies to treat unmet medical needs in cancer and other terminal diseases, announced that Dr. Annette Marleau is assuming the role of Chief Technology Officer. She is the first person to hold the title at the Company. She will lead global strategic and technical R&D initiatives developing a pipeline of Immunopheresis® therapies.
Dr. Marleau is a highly respected immunologist with abundant experience instituting and managing R&D programs that advance therapeutic candidates for immune-related diseases. She has a successful track record building R&D programs that have led to clinical translation of therapeutic candidates. Before joining Immunicom, Dr. Marleau held leadership positions in private and public biotech companies, where she spearheaded R&D programs for drug and medical device candidates in oncology, regenerative medicine, and infectious diseases. She has received four NIH awards directed toward advancing new extracorporeal devices and liquid biopsy technologies for cancer.
“I am excited to assume this leadership role advancing our subtractive Immunopheresis technology, and further our mission to innovate new standards of care in the treatment of cancer and inflammatory disease,” Dr. Marleau commented.
“I want to congratulate Dr. Marleau for this achievement, and for her outstanding contributions,” CEO Amir Jafri stated. “Her leadership has been instrumental in expanding and strengthening Immunicom’s IP portfolio to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases. Her strong background in medical technology innovation perfectly aligns with Immunicom’s future clinical, regulatory and commercialization plans.”
Subtractive Therapy – Immunopheresis® and the LW-02 Column
Immunopheresis uses proprietary molecules within the LW-02 Column to extract specific cytokine receptors shed by cancer cells. These cytokine receptors act like a smoke screen, obscuring cancer’s presence to the immune system. They also reveal a vulnerability: cancer defends itself because it knows the immune system can kill it. Targeted removal of these cytokine receptors by the LW-02 Column is designed to disarm this cancer defense mechanism, unleashing the patient’s immune system to identify and aggressively attack the cancer. And in contrast to chemotherapies that add drugs to the body to fight cancer, Immunopheresis is a subtractive therapy: it adds no drugs by pivoting the point of treatment outside the body. Using apheresis – a process like dialysis – the treatment is designed to avoid typical side effects and toxicities of conventional treatments and improve quality of life for patients battling cancer and other terminal diseases.
