Category Archives: Immunology

Immunology

AZTherapies Announces the Appointment of Drs. Robert Malenka, Adam Boxer, Vijay Kuchroo and Megan Levings, to Scientific Advisory Board – Stockhouse

BOSTON, Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AZTherapies, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in advanced clinical trials to treat neuroinflammatory diseases, today announced the expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board, appointing esteemed neuroscientist Robert Malenka, M.D., Ph.D., as well as experts in the development of neuroimmunology and T-cell therapeutics, Adam Boxer, M.D., Ph.D., Vijay Kuchroo, D.V.M., Ph.D., and Megan Levings, Ph.D., who have joined the AZTherapies SAB following the company’s acquisition of Smith Therapeutics in October 2019.

We are very pleased to welcome these neuro-immunology leaders to our Scientific Advisory Board, as we are all committed to advancing efforts to slow down or halt the progression of neurodegenerative diseases by targeting neuroinflammation as the main cause of progressive neural damage, and declining cognition and function,” said David R. Elmaleh, Ph.D., AZTherapies’ Founder, CEO, and Chairman. Each of our new board members brings unique expertise relevant to our pipeline whether it be our Phase 3 program in early Alzheimer’s disease, our progressing candidate for the treatment of ALS and post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment, or our novel biologic approach using specifically engineered immunosuppressive CAR-T regulatory (Treg) cells to treat neurodegenerative disease and I look forward to working together to achieve our common goals.”

Philip Ashton-Rickardt, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Immunology at AZTherapies also commented on the appointments: I am thrilled that the SAB members from Smith have agreed to stay on to support our efforts in the development of CAR-Tregs to restore a healthy balance of inflammatory and regulatory cells in the brain. Since last fall, we have continued to advance this innovative program through pre-clinical development, and now anticipate initial in vitro and in vivo proof of concept across several models of neurodegenerative disease later this year.”

Dr. Malenka is Deputy Director of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Associate Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stanford University, while also serving as the Pritzker Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. Recognized as a world leader in the field of synapse biology, his work has resulted in more than 250 scientific publications. Dr. Malenka is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received a B.A., summa cum laude, from Harvard College and an M.D. and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dr. Boxer is Endowed Professor in Memory and Aging in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and directs UCSF’s Neurosciences Clinical Research Unit and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) Clinical Trials Program at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. Dr. Boxer’s research is focused on developing new treatments and biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. He is the principal investigator of the Advancing Research and Treatment for Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Clinical Research Consortium, while also leading the FTD Treatment Study Group, which is looking to speed the development of new therapies for FTD. The author of more than 150 scientific publications, Dr. Boxer received his medical and doctorate degrees at New York University Medical Center.

Dr. Kuchroo is the Samuel L. Wasserstrom professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and a senior scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is also a member of the Broad Institute, and a participant in a Klarman Cell Observatory project that focuses on T cell differentiation. He is the founding director of the Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Kuchroo obtained his degree in Veterinary Medicine from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Hisar, India, and subsequently specialized in pathology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia, where he obtained a Ph.D. He is the recipient of the Fred Z. Eager Research Prize, the Javits Neuroscience Award by the NIH, the Ranbaxy Prize in Medical Research, the Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty Lecture/Prize, and was named Distinguished Eberly Lecturer.

Dr. Levings is Professor, Department of Surgery and School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Lead, Childhood Diseases Research Theme, and an Associate Member of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She is internationally recognized in the field of human immunology and currently chairs the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies Centers' of Excellence and is a member of the NIH-funded Immune Tolerance Network steering committee. Her research focuses on the use of T regulatory cells to replace conventional immunosuppression in the context of transplantation and autoimmunity. Dr. Levings received her BSc in biology from Simon Fraser University and her Ph.D. in genetics at the University of British Columbia.

About AZTherapies AZTherapies is an advanced clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecules and biologic therapies that aim to fundamentally change neurodegenerative disease progression, extending normal cognition and function and improving quality of life in the aging population. Our lead candidate, ALZT-OP1, is built on a multi-modal approach that recognizes neuroinflammation as a root cause of serious neurodegeneration and seeks to stop or slow the progression of disease; the ALZT-OP1 Phase 3 COGNITE trial in early Alzheimer’s disease is fully enrolled, with trial completion expected in late 2020 and results in the first quarter of 2021. Following our lead program, we are advancing candidates for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment, and are pursuing an innovative CAR-Treg program that could have broad application across a spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases. AZTherapies is a private company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. To learn more, please visit http://www.aztherapies.com.

Media Contact: Jennifer LaVin jlavin@aztherapies.com

Investor Contact: Brian Bartlett Chief Financial & Accounting Officer brian.bartlett@aztherapies.com

Read the original:
AZTherapies Announces the Appointment of Drs. Robert Malenka, Adam Boxer, Vijay Kuchroo and Megan Levings, to Scientific Advisory Board - Stockhouse

Immunology

Humanigen Appoints Senior Executives to Management Team – BioSpace

BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Humanigen, Inc., (HGEN) (Humanigen), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on preventing and treating cytokine release syndrome (CRS) with lenzilumab, the companys proprietary Humaneered anti-human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) monoclonal antibody, announced that several executives have been appointed to key positions at Humanigen.

Effective immediately, Dale Chappell, MD, MBA, has joined Humanigen to serve as its Chief Scientific Officer, David L. Tousley, CPA, MBA, has joined the company as Chief Accounting and Administrative Officer, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer, and Omar Ahmed, PharmD, has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, Clinical, Medical and Scientific Affairs. All three positions report to Cameron Durrant, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, Humanigen.

Dr. Chappell began his career as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow at the National Cancer Institute where he studied tumor immunology and published in the field of T-cell therapy, immunology pathways, and GM-CSF, giving him clear insights into the development and execution of our business strategy. He is also the founder of Black Horse Capital with decades of biotechnology investment experience.

Mr. Tousley has held roles including Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and President and Chief Operating Officer at companies including Pasteur Merieux Connaught (now Sanofi Pasteur), AVAX Technologies, Inc. and DARA BioSciences. Mr. Tousley has led functions including finance and accounting, procurement, customer account management, strategic and financial planning and management, corporate governance, equity capital financing and business development, and raised in excess of $400 million in equity and debt financings in his career.

Dr. Ahmed has over 20 years of executive leadership experience building industry-leading specialty care portfolios, establishing strategic partnerships, and launching transformational blockbuster therapies. Dr. Ahmed held responsibilities for advancing Janssens $10 billion global immunology portfolio, from early development to late-stage development, including lifecycle management for Remicade, Simponi and Stelara and served as a board member for the Janssen EMEA Emerging Markets, covering 42 countries in the Middle East, West Asia and Africa Region. He also held leadership positons at Novartis and at Roche Pharmaceuticals.

We are pleased that both Dr. Chappell and Mr. Tousley, who have previously operated in interim capacities with the Company, have joined us as full-time members of the Humanigen team, stated Dr. Cameron Durrant. Their appointments, along with Dr. Ahmeds promotion, provide us with continuity and ongoing scientific and operational bench strength as we move the company forward. Filling these key leadership roles with proven executives who are highly regarded within the biotechnology sector, and who have been deeply involved with the strategic direction of our company, is a next step in our plan to rapidly grow into an organization committed to bringing important therapies to patients around the globe, Dr. Durrant concluded.

About Humanigen, Inc.

Humanigen, Inc. is developing its portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical therapies for the treatment of cancers and infectious diseases via its novel, cutting-edge GM-CSF neutralization and gene-knockout platforms. We believe that our GM-CSF neutralization and gene-editing platform technologies have the potential to reduce the inflammatory cascade associated with coronavirus infection. The companys immediate focus is to prevent or minimize the cytokine release syndrome that precedes severe lung dysfunction and ARDS in serious cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The company is also focused on creating next-generation combinatory gene-edited CAR-T therapies using strategies to improve efficacy while employing GM-CSF gene knockout technologies to control toxicity. In addition, the company is developing its own portfolio of proprietary first-in-class EphA3-CAR-T for various solid cancers and EMR1-CAR-T for various eosinophilic disorders. The company is also exploring the effectiveness of its GM-CSF neutralization technologies (either through the use of lenzilumab as a neutralizing antibody or through GM-CSF gene knockout) in combination with other CAR-T, bispecific or natural killer (NK) T cell engaging immunotherapy treatments to break the efficacy/toxicity linkage, including to prevent and/or treat graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Additionally, Humanigen and Kite, a Gilead Company, are evaluating lenzilumab in combination with Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma in a clinical collaboration. For more information, visit http://www.humanigen.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and you should be aware that actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "will," "expect," "intend," "plan," "potential," "possible," "goals," "accelerate," "continue," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our clinical and pre-clinical therapies and our development programs for them. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to our lack of profitability and need for additional capital; our dependence on partners to further the development of our product candidates; the uncertainties inherent in the development and launch of any new pharmaceutical product; the outcome of pending or future litigation; and the various risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" sections and elsewhere in the Company's periodic and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200707005282/en/

See the rest here:
Humanigen Appoints Senior Executives to Management Team - BioSpace

Immunology

Navigating cytokine storms – Penn: Office of University Communications

How do you define cytokine storm and sepsis?

Hunter: The last time I had the flu, about 20 years ago, I had a fever, I felt like my bones were being crushed, and I thought I was going to die. That was not because the virus was replicating in my lungs and causing a huge amount of damage; it was that these soluble immune factors everywhere through my bodythese cytokineswere causing this whole-body shutdown and making everything feel terrible. Thats how people think about cytokine storms.

Everyone has cytokines circulating in their bodies; thats a normal part of the immune response. But when that response overshoots where it should be to clear an infection, thats where it becomes pathological and is considered a storm. And it doesnt have to be an infection that triggers it. It could be that something turns on a T cell by mistake, it could be an autoimmune response, or it could be a treatment that boosts the immune response to cure cancer.

Mangalmurti: Sepsis is now defined as an abnormal host response to a pathogen, whether its bacteria, virus, parasite, or fungi. Most people should be able to clear the pathogen and return to a normal state. Sepsis is a dysregulated response where there is not necessarily a return to normal. In sepsis, the response is often characterized by both a hyperinflammatory and an immunosuppressive response happening at the same time.

Hunter: A cytokine storm can be part of that. The question is, At what point does cytokine activation become pathological? Immunologists may talk about cytokine storms, but Im not sure we really understand why they make our muscles ache or cause a fever or respiratory distress or heart failure. Thats one of the things were trying to explain. Why does it feel like this? How does it amplify? Why do some people make an appropriate response to control infection and live while some overshoot and die?

A through-line of this work seems to be that the immune response isnt always either completely protective or completely harmful, but it can be somewhere in between?

Hunter: Yes, its all about balance. Of course, we know that an immune response can be protective, but there are also immune-mediated diseases. Everyone knows someone with an immune-mediated condition like arthritis, lupus, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.

How have the two of you been working together?

Hunter: When Nilam and I first met I quickly realized my interests coincided with hers. I do basic immunology studying mice, while Nilams science is informed by her time in the ICU. Ive enjoyed getting her perspective on how disease works and the model infectious system that my laboratory uses. When Immunity asked us to write a primer for people who didnt really know what a cytokine storm was, we took that opportunity and ran with it.

Mangalmurti: A pandemic is never a good thing, but it has been a learning opportunity for all of us and a chance to bring together bench-based scientists with physicians and physician-scientists. We have a huge number of sepsis researchers on campus that dont necessary think theyre studying sepsis or dont contextualize their work that way.

A group of physicians and immunologists, including Chris and myself, started a joint sepsis working group so we could bring together scientists from many walks of life, so anyone from clinical epidemiology to fundamental basic scientists. The first meeting we had there were so many ideas flying back and forth about sepsis and pathogens and host response. It was exciting to see people from PSOM, the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, and Penn Vet so engaged.

Now with the pandemic, a focus on understanding the host response to infection is amplified and relevant to questions like why some people with COVID have no symptoms while others get hit really hard.

How is what were seeing with COVID-19 confirming or changing what we understand about cytokine storms and how to address them in patients?

Mangalmurti: Part of why I wanted to do this primer was to sort through this amazing amount of information about COVID that has been pouring in from Twitter, bioRxiv, and medRxiv and other places and try to make sense of it.

There was an opinion piece in the Lancet early on in the pandemic that everyone latched onto that suggested that specific therapies to tamp down cytokine storms were going to be beneficial for COVID. It was early in the pandemic, and this idea seemed to make sense. But we dont have rigorous evidence to back that up and, as we have learned more, we realized that it is not so simple.

In sepsis, multiple therapies to bock cytokine have been tried before, and there hasnt been any survival benefit. In fact, there has been some increased mortality, maybe because the drugs are not striking the right balance of immune response versus immune suppression or are not being used at the right time point in the infection.

One thing that was very clear to us after the first week of seeing COVID-19 patients was that most who came into the ICU with organ failure clearly had a condition that seemed to predispose them to vascular injury: obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, age, a history of vascular disease, or clots. And that was striking because its not something we usually see in most other forms of sepsis, or other forms of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

That got us thinking about innate immunity in the vascular compartment and whether this virus had a penchant for the vasculature. Maybe theres a way to use what we know about this relationship with the vasculature to design and use more targeted anticytokine therapies.

Of course, when patients are doing poorly, clinicians are often desperate for a treatment. I understand that; we just need to remember to proceed with caution when were treating with drugs outside of a controlled trial.

Hunter: From my perspective its exciting to think about targeted therapies that are already available, like antibodies to cytokines that are already used in the clinic; maybe they could be repurposed and used in this setting. But we really need large clinical trials to assess whether our excitement about some of these approaches is meaningful and valid. Perhaps one consequence of the pandemic is that more people will be thinking about how to more effectively use cytokine therapies or cytokine neutralizing approaches, not just in COVID-19 but in sepsis in general. Sepsis is a disease where the advances in immunology have not yet had the same impact that they have in other conditions, such as cancer and autoimmunity.

Can the idea of a cytokine storm help explain the spectrum of responses weve seen to the coronavirus, from asymptomatic patients to those with severe disease?

Mangalmurti: There are certainly anecdotes from people who get this disease that they are home, theyre having fevers every night, they dont feel well. These people are having a cytokine storm, but it resolves, and they dont end up on a ventilator in the ICU. Maybe those patients dont have the predisposing factors that we talked about. It could also be that they have less of a viral load.

Hunter: No one is studying the asymptomatic patients. One question is, How asymptomatic are they really? Maybe they had a small fever one day; maybe that was their cytokine shower.Also, as Nilam mentioned, in every other system the amount of the virus you are exposed to matters, so Im not sure why it wouldnt matter here, too.

You wrote this primer hoping to reach an audience of immunologists. What do you hope they start doing or doing more of?

Hunter: We, the basic immunologists, need to be thinking more about the physiology of what were doing. Often, well look at immune cells in isolation. We need to look at their effects on the vascular system, the impact on lung function, the impact on heart function. In general, we need to realize that it is really important to understand a whole disease process, to look at the system more broadly.

Your work seems to underscore the value of collaboration across fields.

Hunter: Absolutely. Nilam has worked on sepsis and has been seeing sepsis patients for a long time. Shes dealing with really sick patients who have a lot going on. Basic scientists tend to want to simplify and reduce things. And youve got to meet somewhere in the middle, I think, for complex diseases. Penn is a really good place to do that, at PSOM, CHOP, and Penn Vet.

Mangalmurti: Im usually talking with clinicians about ARDS and sepsis, and now to partner with immunologists who are taking a deep dive into the cytokines, into the pathobiology of these things and looking more at the host-pathogen interface, its a really nice intersection. As awful as the pandemic has been, I hope some of our trainees will be intrigued by all these unanswered questions and want to learn more about disease processes.

Originally posted here:
Navigating cytokine storms - Penn: Office of University Communications

Immunology

Numab Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim Enter into Collaboration to Develop Multi-specific Antibody Therapeutics for Cancer and Retinal Diseases |…

DetailsCategory: More NewsPublished on Tuesday, 07 July 2020 18:18Hits: 203

INGELHEIM, Germany & WAEDENSWIL, Switzerland I July 07, 2020 I Boehringer Ingelheim and Numab Therapeutics (Numab) today announced that they have entered into a research collaboration and worldwide licensing agreement. It will start with two projects aiming at novel therapies for difficult-to-treat lung and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers and patients with geographic atrophy (GA), a progressive, irreversible retinal disease that occurs in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) for which there is no current treatment. The collaboration brings together Boehringer Ingelheims leading expertise in the research and development of life changing breakthrough therapies with Numabs multi-specific antibody platform.

Lung and GI cancers and retinal diseases are key focus areas of Boehringer Ingelheims research and development program. In oncology the company has built a broad and diverse pipeline, combining cancer immunology and cancer cell directed approaches. The novel T-cell engager to be developed with Numab adds to Boehringer Ingelheims growing cancer immunology portfolio and supports the strategy to take cancer on by targeting cold tumors with synergistic combination approaches. In retinal diseases Boehringer Ingelheim is pursuing a holistic approach leveraging existing expertise in oncology, inflammation, neurodegeneration, fibrosis and cardiometabolic diseases. The new GA program with Numab further broadens the companys comprehensive portfolio of next generation retinal therapy approaches in various stages of development up to Phase 2 in macular degeneration and diabetic retinal diseases.

We are thrilled to work with the excellent team at Numab to advance our portfolio assets. Numabs technology platform fits well with our internal antibody discovery and engineering capabilities and will enhance our efforts to deliver transformative antibody-based therapeutics to patients, said Paige Mahaney, SVP and US Discovery Research Site Head at Boehringer Ingelheim.

We are looking forward to working with Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in pharmaceutical R&D with profound expertise across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas, further validating our technology platform. This addition to our growing roster of partnerships represents another key milestone in our business development efforts, commented Dr. Oliver Middendorp, Chief Business Officer of Numab Therapeutics. The upfront payment and near-term milestones attached to this alliance will further strengthen Numabs ability to accelerate the development of key proprietary assets.

Under the terms of the alliance, the partners will work together to discover one novel multi-specific antibody drug candidate in each area. Boehringer Ingelheim receives from Numab an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the resulting candidates in exchange for upfront and milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on net sales of all products resulting from the alliance.

With todays announcement, Numab has been able to secure seven ongoing relationships with leading pharmaceutical companies including 3SBio / Sunshine Guojian, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eisai Co., Ltd., CStone Pharmaceuticals, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and Tillotts Pharma AG.

About Boehringer IngelheimMaking new and better medicines for humans and animals is at the heart of what we do. Our mission is to create breakthrough therapies that change lives. Since its founding in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim is independent and family-owned. We have the freedom to pursue our long-term vision, looking ahead to identify the health challenges of the future and targeting those areas of need where we can do the most good.

As a world-leading, research-driven pharmaceutical company, more than 51,000 employees create value through innovation daily for our three business areas: Human Pharma, Animal Health, and Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing. In 2019, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of19 billion euros. Our significant investment of almost 3.5 billion euros in R&D drives innovation, enabling the next generation of medicines that save lives and improve quality of life.

We realize more scientific opportunities by embracing the power of partnership and diversity of experts across the life-science community. By working together, we accelerate the delivery of the next medical breakthrough that will transform the lives of patients now, and in generations to come.

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found at http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

About Numab TherapeuticsNumab Therapeutics is an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company based in Zurich-area, Switzerland. At Numab, we are writing the next chapter in cancer immunotherapy by creating multi-specific antibodies that enable the pursuit of novel therapeutic strategies. With our proprietary MATCH technology platform, we are fueling a new wave of multi-specific drug candidates engineered with versatility and developability in mind. Our lead product was designed to balance potent anti-tumor immunity with a desirable safety profile by targeting 4-1BB, PD-L1 and Human Serum Albumin simultaneously. We believe meeting the highest quality standards in every step of the drug design process matters and will result in better patient outcomes. For further information, visit http://www.numab.com (link is external).

SOURCE: Numab Therapeutics

Read more from the original source:
Numab Therapeutics and Boehringer Ingelheim Enter into Collaboration to Develop Multi-specific Antibody Therapeutics for Cancer and Retinal Diseases |...

Immunology

Allogene Therapeutics Adds Immunotherapy Luminaries, Thomas F. Gajewski, MD, Ph.D., and Stephan Grupp, MD, Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board -…

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allogene Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR T (AlloCAR T) therapies for cancer, today announced the appointment ofThomas F. Gajewski, M.D., Ph.D., and Stephan Grupp, M.D., Ph.D. to itsScientific Advisory Board(SAB).The SAB comprises experts across oncology, immunology, cell therapy, and drug discovery and development.

We areprivileged to welcome Drs. Gajewski and Grupp to our Scientific Advisory Board, saidRafael Amado, M.D., Executive Vice President of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer of Allogene. The additions of Dr. Gajewski and Dr. Grupp further enhance what has become one of the most distinguished cell therapy SABs in the industry and is an important component of our strategy to lead the development of allogeneic cell therapies today and tomorrow.

New Allogene SAB members:

The new advisors join existing SAB members, Chairman Ton Schumacher, Ph.D.,Donald B. Kohn, M.D., Malcolm K. Brenner, M.D., Ph.D.,Matthew Porteus, M.D., Ph.D., Owen Witte, M.D., Stephen J. Forman, M.D., and Wendell Lim, Ph.D.

About Allogene TherapeuticsAllogene Therapeutics, with headquarters inSouth San Francisco, is a clinical-stagebiotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor Tcell (AlloCAR T) therapies for cancer. Led by a management team with significantexperience in cell therapy, Allogene is developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapycandidates with the goal of delivering readily available cell therapy on-demand, more reliably, and atgreater scale to more patients. For more information, please visitwww.allogene.com, and follow @AllogeneTx on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements for Allogene This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The press release may, in some cases, use terms such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: the ability to develop allogeneic CAR T therapies for cancer and the potential benefits of AlloCAR T therapy. Various factors may cause differences between Allogenes expectations and actual results as discussed in greater detail in Allogenes filings with the SEC, including without limitation in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Allogene assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Kymriah is a registered trademark of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.AlloCAR T is a trademark of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.

Allogene Media/Investor Contact:Christine CassianoChief Communications Officer(714) 552-0326Christine.Cassiano@allogene.com

Read more here:
Allogene Therapeutics Adds Immunotherapy Luminaries, Thomas F. Gajewski, MD, Ph.D., and Stephan Grupp, MD, Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board -...

Immunology

UCB and Ferring Pharmaceuticals Announce Co-Promotion of CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol) for the Treatment of Adults with Moderate to Severe Crohn’s…

ATLANTA and PARSIPPANY, N.J., July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- UCB and Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced they have entered into a co-promotion agreement to commercialize the prefilled syringe formulation of CIMZIA® (certolizumab pegol) in the United States, specifically for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD). Ferring will take over marketing, sales promotion, and field medical affairs activities. UCB will continue to be responsible for all product-related activities, including revenue recognition. CIMZIA is an injectable biologic treatment option for adults with moderate to severe Crohn's disease with inadequate response to conventional therapy. UCB will continue to promote and to commercialize the lyophilized formulation of CIMZIA for all indications as well as the prefilled syringe formulation for CIMZIA's rheumatology and dermatology indications.

"UCB is committed to serving the needs of immunology patients, including those living with Crohn's disease. We are excited about this opportunity as it will expand the awareness to the benefits of CIMZIA for individuals living with moderate to severe Crohn's disease, while continuing to support patients through our services and programs," said Camille Lee, Head of U.S. Immunology at UCB. "We believe UCB and Ferring are a strategic fit for the co-promotion as both companies have a strong patient-focused commitment and Ferring has expertise in gastroenterology. UCB is preparing for future launches in immunology, demonstrating our commitment to patients with severe chronic diseases."

This co-promotion allows Ferring to expand its growing portfolio in the gastrointestinal space and support patients living with Crohn's disease, while enabling UCB to focus on and prepare for the future.

"Ferring is focusing on gut health as we expand our gastroenterology portfolio," said Brent Ragans, President of Ferring US. "Together with our existing portfolio, this agreement with UCB will allow Ferring to offer treatment options to the nearly 800,000 adult patients in the U.S. who suffer from Crohn's disease."

CIMZIA has been a treatment option for adults living with moderate to severe Crohn's disease over the last 12 years, since it was approved by the FDA in 2008 based on safety and efficacy data from clinical trials in more than 1,500 patients with Crohn's disease.

CIMZIA can be administered either through self-injection or by a healthcare professional.1 CIMZIA can lower the ability to fight infections. Some people who received CIMZIA have developed serious infections, including tuberculosis (TB) and infections caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that have spread throughout the body.1 Some of these serious infections have caused hospitalization and death.1

About Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease causing chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.2 Crohn's disease can affect any part of the GI tract from mouth to anus, most commonly involving the ileum and proximal colon.3 It belongs to a group of conditions known as inflammatory bowel diseases, or IBD.4 The disease can occur at any age, but is most often diagnosed in adolescents and adults between the ages of 20 and 30.2 Approximately 780,000 Americans are currently affected by Crohn's disease.3

Patients with Crohn's disease may present acutely or have a history of symptoms prior to confirming diagnosis.4 A hallmark symptom in patients with Crohn's disease is abdominal pain.4 Other symptoms include diarrhea potentially persistent in nature,GI bleeding, urgent need to move bowels,abdominal cramps,sensation of incomplete bowel evacuationand constipation, which can lead to bowel obstruction.4

About CIMZIA® in the US

CIMZIA is the only Fc-free, PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor). CIMZIA has a high affinity for human TNF-alpha, selectively neutralizing the pathophysiological effects of TNF-alpha.

CIMZIA is indicated for reducing signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease (CD) and maintaining clinical response in adult patients with moderately to severely active disease who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy.

CIMZIA is also indicated for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), adults with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and adults with active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) with objective signs of inflammation.

In addition, CIMZIA is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (PSO) in adults who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. See important safety information including risk of serious bacterial, viral and fungal infections and tuberculosis below.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION about CIMZIA in the U.S.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

CIMZIA is contraindicated in patients with a history of hypersensitivity reaction to certolizumab pegol or to any of the excipients. Reactions have included angioedema, anaphylaxis, serum sickness, and urticaria.

SERIOUS INFECTIONS

Patients treated with CIMZIA are at increased risk for developing serious infections that may lead to hospitalization or death. Most patients who developed these infections were taking concomitant immunosuppressants such as methotrexate or corticosteroids.

Discontinue CIMZIA if a patient develops a serious infection or sepsis.

Reported infections include:

Carefully consider the risks and benefits of treatment with CIMZIA prior to initiating therapy in the following patients: with chronic or recurrent infection; who have been exposed to TB; with a history of opportunistic infection; who resided in or traveled in regions where mycoses are endemic; with underlying conditions that may predispose them to infection. Monitor patients closely for the development of signs and symptoms of infection during and after treatment with CIMZIA, including the possible development of TB in patients who tested negative for latent TB infection prior to initiating therapy.

MALIGNANCY

Lymphoma and other malignancies, some fatal, have been reported in children and adolescent patients treated with TNF blockers, of which CIMZIA is a member. CIMZIA is not indicated for use in pediatric patients.

HEART FAILURE

HYPERSENSITIVITY

HEPATITIS B VIRUS REACTIVATION

NEUROLOGIC REACTIONS

HEMATOLOGIC REACTIONS

DRUG INTERACTIONS

AUTOIMMUNITY

IMMUNIZATIONS

ADVERSE REACTIONS

For full prescribing information, please visit https://ucb-usa.com/_up/ucb_usa_com_kopie/documents/Cimzia_PI.pdf

References:

CIMZIA® is a registered trademark of the UCB Group of Companies.

For further information, Ferring Pharmaceuticals:

Heather Guzzi Director, Brand Communications (862) 286-5254 (direct) (973) 769-3999 (mobile) heather.guzzi@ferring.com

For further information, UCB: U.S. Communications Allyson Funk Communications, U.S. T. 770.970.8338, allyson.funk@ucb.com

Investor Relations Antje Witte Investor Relations, UCB T +32.2.559.94.14, antje.witte@ucb.com

Isabelle Ghellynck Investor Relations, UCB T+32.2.559.9588, isabelle.ghellynck@ucb.com

About UCB UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With more than 7 600 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of 4.9 billion in 2019. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB). Follow us on Twitter: @UCBUSA

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group committed to helping people around the world build families and live better lives. In the United States, Ferring is a leader in reproductive medicine and maternal health, and in specialty areas within gastroenterology and orthopaedics. For more information, call 1-888-FERRING (1-888-337-7464); visit http://www.FerringUSA.com

Forward looking statements UCB This press release may contain forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "seeks", "estimates", "may", "will", "continue" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and beliefs of management. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial information, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices and other such estimates and results. By their nature, such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions which might cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of UCB, or industry results, to differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Important factors that could result in such differences include: the global spread and impact of COVID-19, changes in general economic, business and competitive conditions, the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or to obtain them on acceptable terms or within expected timing, costs associated with research and development, changes in the prospects for products in the pipeline or under development by UCB, effects of future judicial decisions or governmental investigations, safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, product liability claims, challenges to patent protection for products or product candidates, competition from other products including biosimilars, changes in laws or regulations, exchange rate fluctuations, changes or uncertainties in tax laws or the administration of such laws, and hiring and retention of its employees. There is no guarantee that new product candidates will be discovered or identified in the pipeline, will progress to product approval or that new indications for existing products will be developed and approved. Movement from concept to commercial product is uncertain; preclinical results do not guarantee safety and efficacy of product candidates in humans. So far, the complexity of the human body cannot be reproduced in computer models, cell culture systems or animal models. The length of the timing to complete clinical trials and to get regulatory approval for product marketing has varied in the past and UCB expects similar unpredictability going forward. Products or potential products which are the subject of partnerships, joint ventures or licensing collaborations may be subject to differences disputes between the partners or may prove to be not as safe, effective or commercially successful as UCB may have believed at the start of such partnership. UCB's efforts to acquire other products or companies and to integrate the operations of such acquired companies may not be as successful as UCB may have believed at the moment of acquisition. Also, UCB or others could discover safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with its products and/or devices after they are marketed. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of UCB's products that implicate an entire class of products may have a material adverse effect on sales of the entire class of affected products. Moreover, sales may be impacted by international and domestic trends toward managed care and health care cost containment, including pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, and the reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers as well as legislation affecting biopharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement activities and outcomes. Finally, a breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of UCB's data and systems.

Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on any of such forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labelling in any market, or at any particular time, nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be or will continue to be commercially successful in the future.

UCB is providing this information, including forward-looking statements, only as of the date of this press release and it does not reflect any potential impact from the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, unless indicated otherwise. UCB is following the worldwide developments diligently to assess the financial significance of this pandemic to UCB. UCB expressly disclaims any duty to update any information contained in this press release, either to confirm the actual results or to report or reflect any change in its forward-looking statements with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, unless such statement is required pursuant to applicable laws and regulations.

Additionally, information contained in this document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

USP-CZ-CD-2000038

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ucb-and-ferring-pharmaceuticals-announce-co-promotion-of-cimzia-certolizumab-pegol-for-the-treatment-of-adults-with-moderate-to-severe-crohns-disease-301089326.html

SOURCE UCB, Inc.

Go here to read the rest:
UCB and Ferring Pharmaceuticals Announce Co-Promotion of CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol) for the Treatment of Adults with Moderate to Severe Crohn's...

Immunology

Aichi Cancer Center and NEC to jointly study Advanced Cancer Immunotherapy – BSA bureau

Aims to improve the performance of NEC's neoantigen prediction system and developing predictive biomarkers through the fusion of AI and Experimental Immunology

Aichi Cancer Center and NEC Corporation on 6 July 2020 announced the launch of fundamental research aiming to realize the promise of advanced personalized cancer immunotherapy by improving the performance of NEC's neoantigen prediction system and developing predictive biomarkers for patient stratification through the fusion of AI and experimental immunology.

The research aims to identify suitable neoantigen for vaccine use by using the neoantigen prediction system which NEC has been working on and the screening techniques using T cells for neoantigen from Aichi Cancer Center. In addition, this research aims to develop biomarkers for patient stratification using AI based on analytical data on a tumor immune microenvironment and clinical data.

Advanced personalized cancer immunotherapy boosts the immune system especially in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

The joint research mainly focused on;

Performance improvement of the neoantigen prediction systemAichi Cancer Center and NEC will identify neoantigens recognized by T cells by using both the neoantigen prediction system and the immunological experimental approach. In the future, NEC will improve the performance of the neoantigen prediction system by using this high-quality data.

Development of biomarkers for patient stratificationAichi Cancer Center and NEC will comprehensively analyze the tumor immune microenvironment of each patient. This research aims to develop biomarkers for patient stratification using AI based on clinical information, genetic mutation, gene expression, and experimental data obtained from the experiments described above.

See the rest here:
Aichi Cancer Center and NEC to jointly study Advanced Cancer Immunotherapy - BSA bureau

Immunology

$5 million gift aims to propel Lyme disease research and education – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Jul 6 2020

To the Fairbairns, the symptoms--debilitating fatigue, joint pain, cognitive problems--were as worrisome as they were mystifying. All four members of the family had them.

Eventually, all four tested positive for the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. After months of hitting diagnostic brick walls, the family had a unifying explanation for their symptoms, yet getting them under control took a year. Their conditions are now chronic, with recurrent flare-ups that require ongoing medical management.

The family's experience is not uncommon. In an effort to help spare others with the disease a similar odyssey of pain, worry and confusion, the Fairbairns have made a $5 million donation to Harvard Medical School.

The gift, which will fund three tracks, is aimed at propelling research into Lyme disease and improving public understanding of the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. Even though official reports put the annual number of Lyme disease cases at around 300,000 people per year, that number likely underestimates the true magnitude of infections and the spread of the disease. The National Institutes of Health estimates that the actual number of Lyme disease cases occurring every year is much higher.

The gift will fund the following areas:

The neuroimmunology track ($2 million) will attempt to elucidate how the bacterial pathogen behind Lyme disease may influence the interplay between immunity, inflammation and the nervous system during infection.

The mechanisms of Lyme disease track ($2 million) will study the fundamental processes that underlie the development of disease following infection with disease-causing bacteria (most commonly, Borrelia burgdorferi, and more rarely other organisms).

The education track ($1 million) will support efforts to empower the lay public through improved public understanding and prevention of the disease.

"There is growing evidence that in the setting of infection, the immune system and the nervous system engage in a complex interaction," said Isaac Chiu, who will lead the neuroimmunology research arm with colleague Jun Huh, both assistant professors of immunology in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.

We hope to understand exactly how this happens in the setting of Lyme disease, which can in turn inform the design of therapies that can minimize tissue damage or even prevent disease development following infection with the pathogen."

Isaac Chiu, Assistant Professor of Immunology, Blavatnik Institute at HMS

The disease-mechanisms research track will investigate more broadly how the bacteria that cause Lyme disease interact with cells, tissues, and organs and can result in acute and chronic disease--knowledge that can inform new and more effective diagnostics and therapies and could help propel vaccine research. Over the next five years, this funding will support grants awarded to researchers looking at different aspects of Lyme disease at Harvard Medical School and its affiliated hospitals.

"These grants will facilitate cutting-edge, adventurous science and the ability to ask questions that are going to move the field forward in jumps instead of incremental steps," said Mark Namchuk, executive director of therapeutics translation at HMS, who will administer the disease-mechanism fund.

The education track will support efforts to inform the public about ways to prevent Lyme disease and about the latest research on the pathophysiology of the condition.

Most of the funding in the education arm will be used to develop new content for Harvard Health Publishing, which provides health information to people around the world, drawing upon the expertise of more than 11,000 Harvard Medical School faculty physicians.

"One of Harvard Medical School's core tenets is generating knowledge and disseminating it to the public," said David Roberts, dean for External Education at HMS, who will administer the education fund. "Using this far-reaching educational platform, we hope to improve the understanding of this disease and offer information that can help improve the lives of those affected."

Lyme disease is a confounding disorder. Its presentation can vary from person to person, and a diagnosis is rarely straightforward. A single tick bite can transmit multiple disease-causing organisms. Infections with more than one organism can result in widely ranging disease presentation and may alter how the immune system responds to the infection. Exactly how these coinfections affect disease presentation, symptoms and the short-term and long-term course of the disease remains largely unknown.

There are no consistently accurate tests, and most diagnoses require complex clinical assessment and astute clinical judgment in addition to testing for the causative organisms. A negative test for bacterial infection does not necessarily rule out the presence of disease. The accuracy and speed of diagnosis are further complicated by the varying range and presentation of symptoms. For people who develop lingering symptoms and chronic forms of this disease, there is no established cure and the most common treatment--several classes of oral or intravenous antibiotics--do not work reliably for everyone.

These are all areas of research that require unwavering scientific attention and sustained research efforts enabled by a steady stream of funding, the Fairbairns said.

"Historically, Lyme disease research has been woefully underfunded, and much more needs to be done to better understand this complex disease and its devastating consequences," said Emily Fairbairn, whose husband Malcolm and daughter, Nina, are both Harvard University alumni. The youngest family member, Grant, is expected to graduate from Harvard College in 2021.

"Per-patient NIH funding for Lyme disease research amounts to less than $90 per newly diagnosed patient per year, and this is precisely why private philanthropy is crucial," Emily Fairbairn added. "This disease needs billions of dollars, not millions. We are hoping that this investment will make strides that will attract even more funding to better understand, prevent and treat this important disease."

The Fairbairn family previously donated $1 million to the laboratory of geneticist George Church to support research into the genomics of Lyme disease.

Read the rest here:
$5 million gift aims to propel Lyme disease research and education - News-Medical.Net

Immunology

Researchers Find Promising Therapy to Fight Epidemic of Liver Disease – Mirage News

So far there are no approved drugs for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

In an effort to combat a growing worldwide epidemic of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), scientists have discovered a new target and a new therapy that has shown promising results in preclinical mouse models, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

NAFLD is a major health issue right now, a real epidemic with no treatment. It affects about 25% of the world population, said the studys lead author Mercedes Rincon, PhD, professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The incidence is higher in those who are obese, but it is not restricted to them.

The study was published last week in the journal Nature Communications.

NAFLD is characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver which can lead to fibrosis and eventually Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), an advanced phase of NAFLD that can cause liver failure and death. It is now the most common form of chronic liver disease with no drugs currently approved to treat it.

The researchers focused on MCJ or Methylation-Controlled J Protein as a target for NASH. This protein lives in the mitochondria, the engine of the cells, where lipids are burned in the liver. MCJ acts as a brake on the metabolic activity of the mitochondria. Patients with NAFLD often have higher MCJ levels in their livers.

But MCJ is not critical for life under normal conditions, so Rincons team decided to eliminate this metabolic brake in the liver to increase fat burning and minimize the accumulation of lipids and the development of fibrosis. They used siRNA or Small Interfering RNA to silence MCJ in the liver. This is an emerging therapeutic approach that has shown success in treating some liver diseases.

To test if siRNA for MCJ (called siMCJ) could be a potential therapeutic against NAFLD, mice in preclinical studies were fed a high-fat, high fructose diet. After months on the diet, the mice developed fatty liver. Then they were treated regularly with siMCJ or a placebo. The siMCJ group had lower levels of lipids and fibrosis in their livers compared to the control group. Using this treatment, similar reductions in lipid content and fibrosis were seen in another model on a low protein diet.

We showed that MCJ-deficient mice are resistant to the development of fatty liver and NASH, Rincon said. Importantly, using siRNA as a therapeutic approach we show that treatment with different formulations of siMCJ after the onset of the disease reduces liver steatosis and fibrosis in multiple mouse models.

A key aspect of this therapy is delivering it to the right part of the liver. The researchers combined the siRNA with GalNac, a sugar derivative that binds directly to hepatocytes, cells that make up the majority of the liver.

The result, the study said, is that MCJ is emerging as an alternative target for treating NASH and NAFLD.

Currently, most leading therapeutic drugs undergoing clinical trials for NASH are small molecules given as a systemic treatment, Rincon said. Our data show, in contrast, that the use of siRNA to reduce the levels of MCJ in the liver may constitute an alternative therapeutic strategy.

The rest is here:
Researchers Find Promising Therapy to Fight Epidemic of Liver Disease - Mirage News

Immunology

Immunity to the coronavirus is ‘fragile’ and ‘short lived,’ immunologist warns – CNBC

It is not a "safe bet" to rely on immunity to Covid-19 as a strategy for coping with the pandemic, one expert has warned, adding that herd immunity strategies were "probably never going to work."

Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Monday, Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said that in towns and cities where there had been coronavirus infections, only 10% to 15% of the population was likely to be immune.

"And immunity to this thing looks rather fragile it looks like some people might have antibodies for a few months and then it might wane, so it's not looking like a safe bet," he said. "It's a very deceitful virus and immunity to it is very confusing and rather short lived."

He also raised questions about the likely success of so-called herd immunity when a population is allowed some exposure to the virus in order to buildimmunity among the general population which has been cited by health officials in Sweden, which controversially avoided a lockdown.

Despite a global race to find a vaccine for the coronavirus, experts remain uncertain about whether the antibodies present in people who have had the virus actually provide immunity to reinfection.

Top White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci speculated last month that if Covid-19 behaved like other coronaviruses, there "likely isn't going to be a long duration of immunity" from antibodies or a vaccine. Meanwhile, the WHO has stated that it remains unclear whether those who have already caught the virus once will be immune to getting it again.

Imperial College London's Altmann said on Monday that he was expecting a second wave of Covid-19, and that although governments were much better prepared for a resurgence in infections, the situation remained "very, very scary."

"Anybody who thinks that it has got more mild or gone away or that somehow the problem's going to solve itself is kidding themselves," he told CNBC. "It's still a very lethal virus, it still infects people very, very readily. And I think humanity isn't used to dealing with those realities."

He also emphasized that it was difficult to make predictions about if or when an effective vaccine for Covid-19 might be identified.

"The devil is in the detail, vaccines aren't that easy," Altmann said. "There's more than 100 in trial at the moment and many things can go wrong along the way. I place no bets at the moment myself."

David King, former chief scientific adviser to the U.K. government, warned in an interview with Sky News on Sunday that the U.K. would have an additional 27,000 deaths from Covid-19 if it stayed on its current trajectory. To date, 44,305 people have died from Covid-19 in the U.K., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Altmann told CNBC that he agreed with this projection "to some extent," claiming that a lot of scientists, immunologists and vaccine experts still felt "very scared" about the pandemic.

He acknowledged that policymakers needed to find a balance between protecting public health and preventing socioeconomic disasters, but added: "We need to continue to be led by the science and the medicine and do the right thing. And doing the right thing means everything you can do to block transmission."

The new strain of coronavirus, first reported to the WHO in late December, has infected more than 11.4 million people and killed 534,825 globally to date, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, warned last week that the pandemic was accelerating around the world as economies began to reopen.

View original post here:
Immunity to the coronavirus is 'fragile' and 'short lived,' immunologist warns - CNBC