SIRPant Immunotherapeutics Appoints Jelle Kijlstra, MD, MBA as Chief Medical Officer

Accomplished healthcare executive brings extensive drug development and regulatory experience from global CRO and multiple pharmaceutical companies to SIRPant Immunotherapeutics Inc

HUMMELSTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SIRPant Immunotherapeutics Inc, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focusing on developing next-generation macrophage-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today announced the appointment of Jelle Kijlstra, MD, MBA as its new Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kijlstra brings more than 30 years of experience as a clinician-scientist and drug developer to SIRPant Immunotherapeutics where he will be responsible for advancing the development of SIRPant-M™ (SI-101) an autologous SIRPα^low macrophage-based product, including the ongoing Phase 1 clinical study of SI-101 in Relapsed/Refractory Non-Hodgkins Lymphomas and the filing of a solid tumor-focused IND later this year.

“As we transition from a pre-clinical company to a clinical stage company with trials initiated and planned for NHL (including but not limited to Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma), Head & Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and other solid tumor indications, we are pleased to add Jelle to the leadership team and look forward to benefitting from his deep scientific, industry, and medical knowledge to drive our cell therapy pipeline across multiple high-need cancer indications,” said Robert Towarnicki, President & Chief Executive Officer of SIRPant Immunotherapeutics. “Given SIRPant’s focus on both liquid and solid tumors, bringing on a CMO who has experience across a variety of tumor types is a tremendous advantage in establishing our clinical strategy and executing the trials with our hospital/treatment center collaborators. Dr. Kijlstra’s impressive career both in clinical development and trial execution will be key to enabling SIRPant to identify the optimal paths for advancing our programs targeting hematologic and solid tumors.”

Dr. Kijlstra brings to the company extensive clinical development and regulatory experience with cellular immunotherapy. Over a career spanning 33 years in positions based in Europe and the USA, he worked in roles of increasing responsibility for Zeneca, PathoGenesis, Dendreon, AngioDynamics, Spectrum, Atossa Therapeutics and Covance. Besides early development experience, over the years he led pivotal studies that supported FDA-approval of over 10 oncology and immuno-oncology therapeutics and 2 oncology surgical devices. Most recently, he was CMO at Sound Biologics, an antibody engineering company that develops checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy. Dr. Kijlstra received his medical degree (MD) and hematology training from the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and his MBA from Northwestern University (Chicago), where he was the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Scholar in Health Policy. Dr. Kijlstra has presented to FDA and MHRA regulatory advisory boards, published over 60 peer-reviewed papers and abstracts, and is co-inventor of Provenge™ (sipuleucel-T), the world’s first cellular immunotherapy product approved for cancer by both FDA (2010) and EMA (2013).

“SIRPant’s unique SIRPα^low macrophage immunotherapy has the potential to further accelerate transformation in the treatment of cancer, and I am excited to work with the team to advance the development of this novel and promising treatment modality,” said Dr. Kijlstra. “Importantly, the company’s SIRPant-M™ Phase 1/2 clinical trial in Relapsed/Refractory NHL, a first-in-human study, will serve to demonstrate safety and early indications of activity in these hard-to-treat cancers. I am intrigued by this potential as well as the opportunity to advance our SIRPant-M™ program into solid tumors, initially focusing on head & neck cancers.”

About SIRPant Immunotherapeutics Inc.

SIRPant Immunpotherapeutics Inc is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation macrophage-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The cell therapy technology SIRPant employs is based on the reduction of SIRPα expression combined with activation of the patient’s own macrophages. This population of SIRPα^low activated macrophages are designed to attack the tumor following injection by activating the patient’s immune system to produce broad spectrum anti-tumor activity that utilizes patient T-cells and antibodies targeting cancer neoantigens. Because SIRPant does not genetically engineer its cell therapies, the company believes its product candidates will be easier and less expensive to manufacture, with reduced toxicities, compared to current engineered cell therapies in the clinic, and may provide patients with meaningful clinical benefit. As a result, SIRPant-M has a compelling product profile when compared to current gene-modified cell therapies. For more information, please visit www.sirpantimmunotx.com

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” concerning the development of SIRPant Immunotherapeutics products, the potential benefits and attributes of those products, and the company’s expectations regarding its prospects. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary. SIRPant Immunotherapeutics undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Media Inquiries:  
Robert Towarnicki
President & CEO
(610) 321-3111 Ext 700
rtowarnicki@sirpantimmunotx.com