HDT Bio Corp.

ROCHESTER, Minn.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--RION, a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company pioneering exosome-based therapeutics, today announced the appointment of five distinguished leaders to its Advisory Board. These new advisors bring decades of expertise in their respective fields, ranging from orthopedic & plastic surgery to infectious diseases, military medicine, biomanufacturing and government health strategy, further positioning RION as a leader in innovative regenerative medicine. “We are thrilled to welcome this esteemed group of experts to our team,” said Dr. Atta Behfar, Co-Founder of RION. “Their exceptional track records in clinical practice, biomanufacturing, public health leadership, and scientific innovation will play a crucial role as we continue to advance our groundbreaking platform technology and bring transformative regenerative therapies to patients worldwide.” Advisory Board Members: James B. Peake, M.D . Dr. James Peake, a retired Lieutenant General and former U.S. Army Surgeon General, brings a wealth of experience from his military career and public service as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under President George W. Bush. Dr. Peake has commanded Army medical facilities worldwide and played a pivotal role in shaping healthcare delivery for veterans. His leadership continues in the private sector, where he contributes to the advancement of healthcare strategy at CGI. Raquel C. Bono, M.D., MBA, FACS A board-certified trauma surgeon and retired Vice Admiral, Dr. Raquel Bono made history as the first woman and Asian-American to hold a three-star admiral rank in the U.S. Navy’s medical field. As Director of the Defense Health Agency, she oversaw management of all 55 military treatment facilities and more than 300 associated clinics. Before that, from 2013 to 2015, she served as the 11th chief of the Navy Medical Corps. Dr. Bono’s extensive leadership roles include board membership at Humana and healthcare consulting, shaping value-based care strategies in both military and civilian healthcare systems. Steven L. Moran, M.D. Dr. Moran is a Professor of Plastic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, and staff surgeon at the Shrine Clinic for Sick Children in Minneapolis. He is the former Chairman of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Moran is now the Surgical Director of the Mayo Clinic’s vascularized composite tissue allotransplant program. His renowned expertise spans wrist surgery, congenital hand surgery, and microsurgical reconstruction of the upper extremity. With over 375 peer-reviewed publications, numerous book chapters, and edited textbooks, Dr. Moran is recognized globally for his research in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Andrew Omidvar, Ph.D. Dr. Andrew Omidvar, Vice President of Government R&D at Philips Healthcare, leads large-scale healthcare innovation programs, including government partnerships with BARDA and the Gates Foundation. His strategic expertise in securing billion-dollar funding for transformative healthcare solutions and his leadership at MITRE and Motorola make him an invaluable asset to RION’s advisory team. Steve Reed, Ph.D. A leading expert in infectious disease research and vaccine development, as well as drug delivery methods, Dr. Steve Reed is the co-founder and CEO of HDT Bio. Dr. Reed has a long history of impactful contributions, including developing the first defined vaccines for tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, and leprosy. His work has garnered over $140 million in grants, and his career includes founding key biotech companies such as Corixa Corporation and Immune Design Corp., both of which transformed cancer and infectious disease therapeutics. About RION RION emerged out of the Mayo Clinic after two decades of research and innovation, in the Van Cleve Cardiac Regenerative Medicine Program, leading to the discovery that the driving force behind tissue repair was exosome signaling. Located in Rochester, MN, RION is internationally recognized for its pioneering advancements in isolating and mass-producing platelet-derived regenerative exosomes into shelf stable PEP™. RION is advancing its proprietary biologic PEP™ platform in multiple clinical trials in various therapeutic areas, including wound healing, cardiology, and orthopedics.

Recipients of the funding include Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Washington University in St. Louis, among others. With COVID-19 still spreading and mpox emerging as a public health emergency of international concern, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is upping preparations for future pandemics.The Research and Development of Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibodies for Pandemic Preparedness network (ReVAMPP) will research pathogens that currently lack effective treatments and vaccines, with the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) committing up to $100 million per year to the effort so long as funds are available, the agency announced Sept. 13.“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, the need for robust pandemic preparedness is evident,” NIAID Director Jeanne M. Marrazzo, M.D., said in the release. “The ReVAMPP network will enable researchers to fill key knowledge gaps and identify strategies to develop safe and effective medical countermeasures for targeted virus families before the need becomes critical.” The U.S. has long faced criticism over its pandemic preparedness, both before, during and after COVID-19’s first appearance and spread.ReVAMPP will focus on virus families with known troublemakers, the NIH said, including the families that include dengue and yellow fever, measles, polio and chikungunya. The agency says that focusing on representative pathogens known to cause human disease will enable knowledge to be built that can be transferred to related pathogens. Developing new antibodies and vaccines for these diseases, the agency said in the release, will allow the global health community to respond quickly if a new pandemic threat spawns.Recipients of the funding include the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Washington University in St. Louis, among others.Albert Einstein’s project is called Prepositioning Optimized Strategies for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics against Diverse Emerging Infectious Threats (PROVIDENT), and the college will receive $70 million over five years from NIAID, according to a Sept. 13 release. HDT Bio, a biotech focused on RNA vaccines, announced Sept. 17 that it will be joining Albert Einstein’s project, netting $2 million per year to create “road maps” for new RNA-based vaccines of potential pandemic pathogens. "It is currently unknown if the state-of-the-art approaches used to design vaccine antigens for traditional vaccine technologies can simply be co-opted for use in RNA vaccine technologies," Jesse Erasmus, Ph.D., director of virology at HDT Bio, said in the company’s release. "HDT Bio will address this unknown while generating prototype vaccine candidates for 8 different viruses across 3 virus families of pandemic potential, collaborating with other member institutions of PROVIDENT.”HDT Bio is headquartered in Seattle and has numerous vaccines for viral diseases in its pipeline, including for COVID-19, Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever and Nipah virus.The Research Triangle Institute will serve the ReVAMPP network as a centralized Coordination and Data Sharing Center, the NIH said in its release.

HDT bio's Rapid-Response Roadmap for RNA vaccines (R4) project granted a five-year subaward for $2M per year SEATTLE, Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- HDT Bio Corp., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in advanced RNA vaccine technologies, is proud to announce its pivotal role in PROVIDENT (Prepositioning Optimized Strategies for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics Against Diverse Emerging Infectious Threats), a national consortium led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as part of the Research and Development of Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibodies for Pandemic Preparedness (ReVAMPP) Network. HDT Bio will focus on developing "road maps" for the rapid creation of RNA vaccines against pathogens with pandemic potential, harnessing the company's proprietary AMPLIFY™ self-amplifying replicon RNA (repRNA) platform and LION™ nanoparticle delivery system. The combination of these two technologies offers increased vaccine potency, durability, and stability, while simplifying production—critical features for addressing emerging infectious threats quickly and effectively. "We are excited to contribute our expertise in RNA vaccine technologies to the PROVIDENT consortium," said Steve Reed, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of HDT Bio. "Our AMPLIFY™ and LION™ platforms have demonstrated their ability to rapidly generate potent, durable immune responses with a favorable safety profile. These innovations will be essential in preparing for future pandemics, where speed and flexibility in vaccine development will save lives." As part of the PROVIDENT initiative, HDT Bio will develop a comprehensive strategy to create RNA vaccines capable of targeting pathogens across multiple viral families, focusing particularly on rapid adaptability to emerging "virus X" scenarios. This aligns with PROVIDENT's broader goals of safeguarding public health by advancing platforms that can be quickly tailored to respond to novel viral threats. "It is currently unknown if the state-of-the-art approaches used to design vaccine antigens for traditional vaccine technologies can simply be co-opted for use in RNA vaccine technologies," said Jesse Erasmus, Ph.D., who is the principal investigator on the subaward. "In our project, Rapid-Response Roadmap for RNA vaccines, HDT Bio will address this unknown while generating prototype vaccine candidates for 8 different viruses across 3 virus families of pandemic potential, collaborating with other member institutions of PROVIDENT to design and characterize antigens using structure-guided and high-throughput mutagenesis approaches." "We will also evaluate safety and immunogenicity against a diverse panel of viruses, and characterize efficacy in high-containment," Dr. Erasmus added. The additional key contributors to these efforts at HDT Bio are: Amit Khandhar, Ph.D., Director of Formulations Taishi Kimura, Ph.D., Senior Scientist E. Taylor Stone, Ph.D., Scientist HDT Bio will work with 12 teams in academia and government alongside 3 other projects titled, 1) "Discovery and dissection of virus-host interactions and pathogenetic mechanisms", 2) "Antigen design and immunological evaluation", and 3) Mining human antibody responses to inform vaccine and therapeutic design". More details on collaborating institutions and their key researchers can be found in Albert Einstein College of Medicine's description of the parent award. HDT Bio's LION™/repRNA platform builds on the company's pioneering work in vaccine development, notably including emergency use authorizations for its vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's innovative approach to RNA vaccine delivery, particularly through its LION™ nanotechnology, enhances the safety and efficacy of RNA-based vaccines while maintaining crucial logistical benefits such as refrigeration stability and simplified manufacturing. "Our role in PROVIDENT exemplifies HDT Bio's mission to make RNA vaccines a cornerstone of future pandemic preparedness," added Dr. Reed. "By working in concert with academic, government, and industry partners, we aim to provide the tools needed to address unknown viral threats quickly and efficiently." For more information on HDT Bio's AMPLIFY™ and LION™ platforms, visit . About HDT Bio HDT Bio is a Seattle-based, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical development company. With core technology and expertise in nucleic acid formulation, the company develops products that seek to harness host-directed immune responses. HDT Bio's work focuses on infectious disease and oncology vaccines and therapeutics through early-stage collaborations with partners worldwide. The company's vaccine platforms combine formulation and adjuvant ingredients to stabilize and deliver RNA to the immune system to stimulate responses. HDT Bio's repRNA/LION™ was the first self-amplifying RNA vaccine platform to ever receive a regulatory authorization. SOURCE HDT Bio Corp. WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED