Texas A&M University

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals (Inmagene), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative and differentiated therapies for immunological and inflammatory (I&I) diseases, today announced it will host a virtual key opinion leader (KOL) event at 10:00 AM ET on Thursday, October 31, 2024. To register, click here. The event will feature Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH (The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences), Maryanne Senna, MD (Beth Israel Lahey Health, Harvard Medical School), and Yufang Lu, MD, PhD (Inmagene) who will discuss the potential role of anti-OX40/OX40L monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) and alopecia areata (AA). The event will discuss data from emerging OX40/OX40L inhibitors, including Inmagene’s IMG-007 - the only clinical-stage non-depleting anti-OX40 mAb. A live question and answer session will follow the formal presentations. About Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPHJonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. He is the Director of Clinical Research and Contact Dermatitis. Dr. Silverberg completed his undergraduate and medical school training as a part of the highly selective dual B.A./M.D. program at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, in Brooklyn. Dr. Silverberg also received his doctorate in neuroimmunology and Master of Public Health degree in biostatistics and epidemiology from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center where he also completed his internship in internal medicine. He completed his residency training in dermatology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center and Beth Israel Medical Centers in New York, NY and served as Chief Resident during his final year. Dr. Silverberg's area of clinical subspecialty is inflammatory skin disease, particularly atopic and contact dermatitis. He has extensive experience in the advanced management of atopic dermatitis, hand eczema, chronic itch, psoriasis, hidradenitis and many other chronic inflammatory skin disorders. He is also a national expert in allergy patch testing, phototesting and photopatch testing. Dr. Silverberg's research interests include drug development, clinical trial design, biomarkers, dermato-epidemiology, health services research, patient-reported outcomes, comorbidities and burden of itch and inflammatory skin disease and evidence-based dermatology. His publications include more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts and book chapters. He is also the author of the Clinical Management of Atopic Dermatitis handbook (2018). Dr. Silverberg has also been a local, national and/or international principal investigator for numerous clinical trials for novel treatments in atopic dermatitis and other inflammatory disorders. He has been recognized with several honors, including the Young Leadership Award from the American Dermatological Association in 2017, Teacher of the Year Award in the department of dermatology in 2015, Outstanding Teacher's Award from the Feinberg School of Medicine in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and the inaugural Rajka Award from the International Society for Atopic Dermatitis in 2014. He is an associate editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, British Journal of Dermatology and Current Dermatology Reports. Dr. Silverberg is a member of the International Eczema Council, North American Contact Dermatitis Group the American Society of Contact Dermatitis. Dr. Silverberg is also the chair of the annual Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis global multidisciplinary conference. About Maryanne Senna, MDMaryanne Senna, MD is a board-certified dermatologist at Beth Israel Lahey Health, and assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Senna founded and directs the Lahey Hair Loss Center of Excellence and serves as principal of the research unit. Prior to this role, she founded the MGH Hair Loss Clinic and clinical trials unit, which she ran for nearly 10 years. She has held a number of pharmaceutical, device, and foundation appointments. Widely published and recognized for her clinical expertise, teaching, and research, Dr. Senna is frequently invited to speak and give lectures nationally and abroad, and has been quoted in top-tier media publications such as The New York Times and The Atlantic. She has also been featured on multiple news outlets including Good Morning America, and in the HBO Max documentary series Not So Pretty. Dr. Senna is an esteemed member of several professional societies and committees, and is on the board of directors of the Scarring Alopecia Foundation, the American Hair Research Society, and on the medical advisory task force for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. About Yufang Lu, MD, PhDYufang Lu is the Chief Medical Officer of Inmagene. Dr. Lu is an accomplished physician scientist with more than 20 years of experience in clinical development and medical affairs. She has successfully led clinical development for both small molecules and biologics across diverse therapeutic areas, including dermatology, allergy, gastroenterology, and rheumatology. Prior to Inmagene, Dr. Lu was Vice President of Clinical Development at Celldex, where she drove the advancement of innovative immunology assets, including barzovolimab. During her tenure at Regeneron, she led cross-functional medical teams in the global launches of Dupixent® in atopic dermatitis and asthma. Earlier in her career, she held roles in clinical development and medical affairs at Celgene, Eisai, and GSK. Dr. Lu received her medical degree from Nanjing Medical University with residency training in dermatology and a PhD in toxicology from Texas A&M University. About InmageneInmagene is a global clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for I&I diseases. The company’s highly differentiated clinical-stage pipeline has multiple candidates with best-in-class potential. The lead asset IMG-007, a non-depleting anti-OX40 mAb, is in two global Phase 2a clinical trials in atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata. IMG-004, a non-covalent reversible BTK inhibitor with an extended half-life and pharmacodynamic effect, enabling its potential for once-daily dosing, recently completed the Phase 1 multiple ascending dose (MAD) study and is ready for Phase 2 development. For more information, please visit www.inmagenebio.com. About IMG-007IMG-007 is a humanized anti-OX40 IgG1 mAb, with an extended half-life and silenced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) function. In nonclinical studies, IMG-007 potently blocked the signalling between OX40 and OX40L. IMG-007 is being evaluated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) and severe alopecia areata (AA). In a Phase 2a study in AD patients, a short 4-week treatment with IMG-007 resulted in a rapid and marked improvement in the extent and severity of skin lesions in AD patients. Interim data from a pharmacokinetic study showed that subcutaneous IMG-007 demonstrated an exceptionally long half-life, which would enable its potential for every six months (Q6M) dosing for AD maintenance therapy. Separately, its silenced ADCC function has led to a favorable safety profile, without any reports of pyrexia and chills, differentiating it from a competing ADCC-enhanced anti-OX40 mAb. Inmagene has in-licensed IMG-007’s exclusive global rights from HUTCHMED. Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements. While Inmagene believes the projections to be based on reasonable assumptions, these forward-looking statements may be called into question by a number of hazards and uncertainties, so that actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. For further information, please contact:Inmagene:Anna Vardanyan, MD, PhDSVP of Corporate and Business Developmentvardanyana@inmagenebio.com Investor Relations:Bruce MackleLifeSci Advisors, LLCbmackle@lifesciadvisors.com

Winner Trever Smith, of Tufts University, will collect novel therapeutic data to develop a first-of-its-kind drug interaction compendium for Lyme DiseasePORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., Aug. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the US, announces the recipient of the 2024 Emerging Leader Award (ELA), which is designed to support new and innovative research and aims to attract aspiring new scientific talent to the field of Lyme. This year’s winner, Trever Smith, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine, will receive $150,000 for his work to identify precise treatment combinations that more effectively target persistent Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection in persistent Lyme patients. For this research, Dr. Smith intends to develop a first-of-its-kind drug interaction compendium to help prioritize the most effective combinations for testing in pre-clinical models of Lyme disease. To do so, Dr. Smith will leverage techniques he and other researchers use to identify effective drug combinations against other infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and translate them for Bb. Due to the difficulty in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, it is estimated that over two million patients currently suffer from the debilitating later-stage symptoms of persistent Lyme in the US, and there are currently no FDA-approved treatments for the persistent symptoms of Lyme disease. “While combination therapies to treat chronic Lyme have shown promise in early research and are widely used with success in other disease areas, the vast majority of chronic Lyme patients are not able to benefit from combination therapies,” said Wendy Adams, research grant director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “Dr. Smith’s research aims to change this, as it builds on his previous research success in tuberculosis to bring the hope of combination therapies for Lyme to the forefront and seeks to give clinicians and researchers a better understanding of the advantages of combining current FDA-approved treatments in Lyme disease.” Smith’s Emerging Leader Award research project will use computational tools and direct measurement of drug interaction outcomes, including high-throughput drug interaction screening techniques, to develop a comprehensive drug interaction dataset. This data will determine which drug combinations are most efficacious in eradicating Bb in vitro. The efficacy of the identified drug combinations will then be tested in a chronically infected in vivo model of Lyme disease. Multi-omics analyses and imaging studies will also be performed to identify borrelial cell death mechanisms of these combinations. The project will expand our understanding of how drug combinations target and kill Bb. “At Bay Area Lyme Foundation, we continually seek to support researchers who can apply proven scientific approaches from other disease areas and tap already-approved therapeutics to quickly advance care for patients, and Dr. Smith’s research intentions address both of these goals,” said Linda Giampa, executive director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “We are very hopeful that Dr. Smith can build on his previous research success to make strides toward improved treatment for the millions of patients managing chronic Lyme today.” Dr. Smith’s research follows BAL's longstanding support for researchers working on combination therapy, including Monica Embers, PhD, and Ying Zhang, MD, PhD. This work is part of the ongoing efforts at Tufts University by Dr. Smith and previous Emerging Leader Award recipient Peter Gwynne, PhD, to identify new drugs that target Bb. Dr. Smith and Dr. Gwynne are members of the Tufts University Lyme Disease Initiative, which leverages specialized expertise in tick-borne illnesses to advance and innovate treatments for Lyme and prevent disease transmission. Previous Emerging Leader Award recipients have come from institutions, including Brandeis University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Louisiana State University, North Carolina State University, Stanford University School of Medicine, Texas A&M, Tulane University, University of California San Francisco, Rockefeller University, Stanford University, Tufts University, and Northwestern University. Most of these projects were in the early stages of research, and the Emerging Leader Award enabled scientists to generate data required for government funding. Many findings have been accepted for presentation at well-respected scientific forums or are detailed in peer-reviewed papers. Since 2014, these awards have been given annually to promising scientists who have identified a defined approach to improve diagnostics or therapeutics for Lyme disease. Scientists or clinicians interested in applying for the 2025 Emerging Leader Award or learning about the other funding opportunities that the Bay Area Lyme Foundation offers throughout the year should visit https://www.bayarealyme.org/our-research/grant-process/. About Lyme DiseaseThe most common vector-borne infectious disease in the US, Lyme disease is a potentially disabling infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of an infected tick to people and pets, and can be potentially passed from a pregnant mother to her unborn baby. If caught early, most cases of Lyme disease can be effectively treated, but it is commonly misdiagnosed due to lack of awareness and inaccurate diagnostic tests. Based on the trajectory of Lyme disease cases documented by CDC between 2010 and 2018, Bay Area Lyme estimates that there are now more than 620,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, and, as a result of the difficulty in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, up to two million Americans may be suffering from the impact of its debilitating long-term symptoms and complications. About Bay Area Lyme FoundationBay Area Lyme Foundation, a national organization committed to making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, is the leading public not-for-profit sponsor of innovative Lyme disease research in the US. A 501c3 organization based in Silicon Valley, Bay Area Lyme Foundation collaborates with world-class scientists and institutions to accelerate medical breakthroughs for Lyme disease. It is also dedicated to providing reliable, fact-based information so that prevention and the importance of early treatment are common knowledge. A pivotal donation from The LaureL STEM FUND covers overhead costs and allows for 100% of all donor contributions to the Bay Area Lyme Foundation to go directly to research and prevention programs. For more information about Lyme disease or to get involved, visit www.bayarealyme.org or call us at 650-530-2439. Media contact:Tara DiMiliaPhone: 908-369-7168Tara.DiMilia@tmstrat.com

CARROLTON, Texas, July 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Syed S. Hasan, MD, MPH is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member for his contributions in Gastroenterology. Renowned gastroenterologist Dr. Hasan is at the forefront of local digestive health care, specializing in gastroenterology, liver diseases, and colon cancer screening. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Hasan brings unparalleled expertise and dedication to patient care. Continue Reading Syed S. Hasan, MD, MPH Dr. Hasan holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies and Urdu Literature from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Public Health (MPH) from Texas A&M University, School of Medicine. He is board certified in gastroenterology. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Hasan has performed over 800 unassisted colonoscopies with an outstanding 49% Adenoma Detection Rate and is proficient in Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT). His exceptional medical practice has earned him intern and resident awards for excellence. Active in professional circles, Dr. Hasan is a member of esteemed medical associations including the American Medical Association and the American College of Gastroenterology. He also volunteers at the medical clinic at his local mosque, demonstrating his commitment to community health. As a fellowship-trained gastroenterologist at Digestive Health Associates of Texas, Dr. Hasan is dedicated to providing comprehensive care to his patients. He is married to Mrs. Shames Alaesh and is a proud parent to son Abbas. Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected] SOURCE The Inner Circle