Isomab Ltd (“Isomab”) a UK-based biotechnology company developing novel therapies to restore vascularization in cardiovascular disease, today announced the appointment of Professor Bill Sessa, PhD, former Chief Scientific Officer of Internal Medicine at Pfizer and the Alfred Gilman Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine, as Chair of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
Insights from Professor Bill Sessa on Vascular Biology
Professor Sessa will lead an SAB comprising internationally recognised experts in vascular biology from Yale, Harvard Medical School, Uppsala University and the University of Eastern Finland, alongside Isomab Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Professor David Bates.
The appointment comes as Isomab advances ISM-001 (vexobicizumab), its first-in-class anti-VEGF-A165b monoclonal antibody, toward first-in-human dosing for chronic angina refractory to standard-of-care treatment. The Company is completing a key clinical biomarker study and strengthening its preclinical package ahead of clinical development.
“VEGF-A165b antagonism represents a genuinely novel approach to restoring vascularization in ischaemic disease,” said Professor Bill Sessa. “I have spent much of my career studying the molecular biology of eNOS and the vascular endothelium, and I am excited to help guide Isomab’s team as they translate two decades of foundational science into a potential therapy for patients with chronic angina, a condition where treatment options remain limited.”
“This is an exceptional group of scientists whose collective work has defined much of what we know about vascular biology today,” said Philip Brainin, MD, PhD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Isomab. “As we advance ISM-001 toward the clinic, having Bill and this board rigorously challenge our mechanistic narrative and preclinical package, while helping us determine where the 165b biology could take us next, is an enormous asset to the Company and, ultimately, to patients with cardiovascular disease.”
Joining Professor Sessa on the SAB are:
Professor Tim Hla, Patricia K. Donahoe Professor of Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, known for his discovery of the COX-2 pathway and the first S1P receptor.
Professor Lena Claesson-Welsh, Professor in the Department of Vascular Biology at Uppsala University and an internationally recognised authority on VEGFR2 signal transduction.
Professor Seppo Ylä-Herttuala, Professor at the Institute for Molecular Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland and a pioneer of cardiovascular gene therapy and the application of adenoviral gene transfer in cardiovascular disease.
Professor David Bates, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Isomab and Professor at the University of Nottingham, whose more than two decades of research underpin Isomab’s VEGF-A165b science.