EverImmune appoints Prof. Laurence Zitvogel as president of scientific advisory board

• EverImmune appoints scientific advisory board of four international experts in cancer immunotherapy and oncobiotics (the study of interactions between the microbiome and cancer cells)
• As specialists in oncology, microbiology and immunology, they will support the company in developing its product portfolio

Villejuif-Grand Paris, France, November 29, 2022 – EverImmune, a clinical-stage biotechnology company specialized in the development of live biotherapeutic products as adjuncts to cancer immunotherapy, today announces that it has appointed its scientific advisory board, which will be chaired by Prof. Laurence Zitvogel, company co-founder and director of immuno-oncology research at the Gustave Roussy Institute in Paris, France. The board welcomes four international specialists in clinical development, cancer immunotherapy and microbiome biology: Prof. Jennifer Wargo (USA), Dr. Jean-Pierre Bizarri (USA), Prof. Christian Jobin (USA) and Dr. Lisa Derosa (France).
 
“As co-founder of everImmune in 2016 with Dr. Romain Daillère, the company’s chief scientific officer, I am delighted to take up the chair of its scientific advisory board. The appointment of these international experts shows how much interest there is in the work of everImmune and the field of oncobiotics, which has seen significant advances in recent years. Our aim will be to help the company set priorities to develop its pipeline of products,” said Prof. Laurence Zitvogel, M.D., PhD., fellow of the French Academy of Medicine and of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences (EACS).
 
The other members of the everImmune scientific advisory board are:
 
Prof. Jennifer Wargo, M.D, PhD.: Jennifer is professor of genomic medicine and surgical oncology, and director of the Platform for Innovative Microbiome and Translational Research (PRIME-TR) at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. PRIME-TR aims to understand microbe-host interactions in the context of cancer onset, progression and response to treatment.
 
Dr. Jean-Pierre Bizarri, M.D.: Jean-Pierre is a member of the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) scientific advisory board and a board member at the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). He has led oncology clinical development at Celgene Corporation, Sanofi S.A., Aventis and Rhône-Poulenc.
 
Prof. Christian Jobin, PhD.: Christian is professor of gastroenterology at the University of Florida (USA), where his laboratory investigates bacteria/host immune system interactions in pathologies such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) and ColoRectal Cancer (CRC).
 
Dr. Lisa Derosa, M.D.: Lisa is co-director of the Clinicobiome program at Gustave Roussy, in Paris, and co-investigator for the Oncobax-AK clinical trial program. In 2021, she received the ASCO Merit Award for her work demonstrating the predictive role of Akkermansia in immuno-oncology.
 
EverImmune seeks to harness the potential benefits of gut microbiota in a unique targeted approach which aims to enhance the response of cancer patients to standard-of-care immunotherapy. The company’s flagship product, Oncobax® AK, is based on a specific strain of Akkermansia and started clinical development in September 2022 in patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) whose gut microbiota is deficient in Akkermansia. Currently, up to 70% of NSCLC patients and 60% of RCC patients failed to respond to immunotherapy, while up to 50% of patients are deficient in Akkermansia. 
 
“It is an honor to appoint such a prestigious team to everImmune’s scientific advisory board. Their combined expertise will enable us to develop our product portfolio and further strengthen the company as a key player in microbiota research,” said Jean-Luc Marsat, president of everImmune. 

About everImmune 
EverImmune is a biotechnology company specialized in the development of live biotherapeutic products in the field of microbiota oncology. It harnesses the gut microbiota for the development of a unique theragnostic approach aiming to restore the response of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer patients. The company is developing Oncobax® AK, a Live Biotherapeutic Product (LBP) used as an oral adjuvant to anticancer immunotherapies, designed to safely boost the immune system and restore sensitivity to immunotherapies in primary resistance settings. EverImmune started its phase I clinical trial for Oncobax AK in Q3, 2022, in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and Renal Cell Cancer (RCC) patients. It also develops other bacteria in its pipeline for use in the treatment of different types of cancer, such as breast and colon cancers.
Created in 2016 by co-founders Pr. Laurence Zitvogel and Dr. Romain Daillere, everImmune is a spinoff from Gustave Roussy; Europe’s first cancer institute, based near Paris, France. The company is part of ONCOBIOME, the first European program dedicated to studying the link between the microbiome and cancer, funded by the European Union.
Based in Villejuif, near Paris, everImmune has seven staff.
www.everimmune.com