- Company advancing regenerative cell therapy platform technology with broad utility toward first-in-man study
- Lead product candidate, ITOL-101, for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes entering IND-enabling studies
- Anthony Japour, M.D., a seasonedbiotech and pharmaceutical executive with over 30 years of experience, appointed as Chief Executive Officer
- Camillo Ricordi, M.D., one of the world's leading scientists in diabetes cure-focused research, cell transplantation and regenerative medicine, appointed as Chief Scientist
SAN MATEO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 9, 2021 / iTolerance, Inc. ("iTolerance" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative regenerative medicines, today announced the formation of its Executive Leadership Team with the hiring of Anthony Japour, M.D. as Chief Executive Officer and Camillo Ricordi, M.D. as Chief Scientist.
Cameron Gray, Ph.D., J.D., founder and chairman of iTolerance, stated, "We are extremely excited to launch iTolerance with the initial appointments to our executive team of Drs. Japour and Ricordi. iTolerance has a unique opportunity to develop a potential cure for Type 1 Diabetes and other regenerative medicine products that eliminate the need for chronic immunosuppression of patients. I believe that with Anthony and Camillo at the helm, iTolerance is well-positioned to develop and bring to market potentially curative treatments for diseases such as diabetes where there remains tremendous unmet medical need."
"I am very pleased to join iTolerance and to lead this exciting new company that has a potential breakthrough technology to make a real difference in the lives of patients with Type 1 Diabetes and potentially other rare diseases. The scientific founders and advisors of iTolerance have worked tirelessly over many years pioneering regenerative cell therapy without immunosuppression as a platform technology. This platform technology fuels a robust pipeline in many high-value indications and importantly, areas of significant unmet medical need," commented Dr. Japour. "I look forward to working with Dr. Ricordi along with the rest of our team, scientific founders and advisors to advance the iTolerance pipeline forward."
"Type 1 Diabetes, even with the currently available treatments, remains an area of significant unmet need. iTolerance has developed, what I believe to be a compelling potential cure for Type 1 Diabetes without immunosuppression, and I am excited to join iTolerance and aid in advancing this important program towards an IND and first-in-man study. With the addition of the regenerative cell therapy platform technology, I believe iTolerance could become a leader in the regenerative medicine space," added Dr. Ricordi.
Anthony Japour, M.D.
Dr. Japour has over 30 years of experience as a physician and as a biotechnology and pharmaceutical executive. He began his career as an MD, trained at Harvard Medical School with subspecialty training in Infectious Diseases where he became an Assistant Professor of Medicine, and was awarded the prestigious American Foundation for AIDS Scholar award, followed by research grants from the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, a NIH-NIAID K-11 Physician Scientist Award and NIH RO1. Dr. Japour, holds a B.S from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an M.D. from Northwestern University Medical School.
Additional career highlights include:
- Joined the Abbott Laboratories antiviral drug development group where he was on the leadership team for the Phase 1-3 development team for KALETRA®, a blockbuster drug for HIV infection which received accelerated FDA-approval in record time as well as other HIV drug combinations;
- Oversaw multiple therapeutic areas including Immunology and Transplant products in Marketed Product Development at Abbott Laboratories;
- Consulted for and has been a thought leader for many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, governmental and non-governmental entities, and numerous Contract Research Organizations;
- Long-time supporter of and active advisor for the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation in Miami and has played a role in advocating for FDA approval of pancreatic islet cell transplantation in patients with Type 1 Diabetes;
- Involved with over 20 publications and over 100 abstracts;
- Appointed to the Board of Sanaby Health Acquisition Corp I in April 2021; and
- Served as CEO of AdvancedDx Biological Laboratories-USA, a next-generation sequencing company.
Camillo Ricordi, M.D.
The Stacy Joy Goodman Professor of Surgery, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Miami (UM), Florida
Acknowledged by his peers as one of the world's leading scientists in diabetes cure-focused research, cell transplantation and regenerative medicine, Dr. Ricordi is well-known for inventing the machine that made it possible to isolate large numbers of islet cells (insulin-producing cells) from the human pancreas and for performing the first series of successful clinical islet allotransplants that reversed diabetes after implantation of donor purified islets into the liver of recipients with diabetes. The procedure is now used by laboratories performing clinical islet transplants worldwide and in 2017 the first NIH funded, FDA Phase 3 multicenter trial was successfully completed by the NIH Clinical Islet Transplantation Consortium, chaired by Dr. Ricordi. He has also developed highly innovative strategies to transplant cells and organs without the continuous requirement for anti-rejection drugs and to reverse autoimmune disease conditions. He is currently ranked among the top ten world experts in transplantation of insulin producing cells for the treatment of diabetes and was appointed to the Supreme Council of Health (Consiglio Superiore di Sanita) by the Ministry of Health of Italy.
Additional career highlights include:
- Director of the Diabetes Research Institute and the Cell Transplant Center at the University of Miami, Florida;
- Head of the NIH funded cGMP Human Cell Processing Facility (1993-present), for the manufacturing of advanced human cell and other biologic products, for research and clinical applications at UM, in the US and worldwide;
- President of the Cell Transplant Society (1992-94), co-founder and chairman of the National Diabetes Research Coalition (Chairman 1997), co-founder and president (1999-2001) of the International Association for Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (IPITA), and a member of the council of The Transplantation Society (2002-2008);
- Served on the council of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (2000-2002), on the National Institutes of Health (NIH-NIAID) Expert Panel on clinical approaches for tolerance induction, on the FDA Biologic Response Modifiers Advisory Committee, on the NIH/NCRR Islet Cell Resources (ICRs) Executive Committee, on the NIH-NIDDK Strategic Planning Committee and on the NIH-NIAID Expert Panel on Transplantation Research;
- Received numerous prestigious honors and awards globally;
- Founding President of the Fondazione Cure Alliance ONLUS and of The Cure Alliance and Chairman of the Diabetes Research Institute Federation;
- President of the Board of ISMETT (Mediterranean Institute of Transplantation and Advanced Therapies and was appointed President of Fondazione Ri.MED by the Italian Prime Minister, for the 2013-2017 term;
- Serves on the editorial board of CellR4 (Editor-in-Chief) and has previously served on the editorial boards of Cell Transplantation (Founding Editor and Co-Editor-in-Chief), the American Journal of Transplantation (Associate Editor), Transplantation, Transplantation Proceedings, Tissue Engineering, and Graft (Editor-in-Chief); and
- Contributed to 1,153 publications and has 27 patents awarded.
About ITOL-101
ITOL-101 is an innovative therapy initially being developed for the treatment of and potentially as a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. As an adjunct therapy with pancreatic islet cells, ITOL-101 creates a durable, localized immune tolerance that has the potential to protect implanted islet cells from rejection by the body's own immune system. This localized immune acceptance potentially eliminates the need for sustained immunosuppressants and allows for localized remodeling and functional engraftment.
About iTolerance, Inc.
iTolerance isa privately held biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative regenerative medicines. The Company's lead program, ITOL-101, is an adjunct therapy with pancreatic islet cell implant currently in development for the treatment of or as a potential breakthrough cure for Type 1 Diabetes. ITOL-101 has demonstrated compelling efficacy in non-human primate studies. The Company plans to advance ITOL-101 towards an IND and first-in-man study. Additionally, the Company is advancing its regenerative cell therapy platform to fuel a robust pipeline addressing high-value indications. For more information, please visit itolerance.com.
Investor Contact
Jenene Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
JTC Team, LLC
T: 833.475.8247
iTolerance@jtcir.com
SOURCE: iTolerance, Inc.
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