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Batu Biologics Recruits Renowned Cancer Immunologist to Scientific Advisory BoardSAN DIEGO --(Business Wire)-- Batu Biologics Inc, an immunotherapy company developing ValloVaxTM, the first anti-angiogenic cancer vaccine, announced today the appointment of Boris Minev, M.D. to the company's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Minev is an internationally renowned key opinion leader in tumor immunology, currently serving as Principal Investigator, Director, Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy at Moores UCSD Cancer Center, as well as Director of Immunotherapy and Translational Oncology at Genelux Corporation. Dr. Minev will assist Batu Biologics in advancing ValloVaxTM through FDA clinical trials, which are anticipated to begin in early 2015. "Having worked in the field of tumor immunology and on the development of the first tumor vaccine to be approved by a regulatory body (Melacine), I am fascinated by novel approaches to cancer immunotherapy," Dr. Minev said. "The approach being developed by Batu Biologics is completely unique in that this is the first time the blood vessels that feed the tumor are being used as a target of immunotherapy. This provides a completely different approach to cancer therapy since: a) blood vessels do not mutate like tumors mutate, thus reducing chances of the cells becoming resistant to therapy; b) for every single blood vessel cell that is killed, approximately 200-300 tumor cells die, thus higher potential for efficacy exists; and c) tumor blood vessels are in direct contact with the immune system via the blood. In contrast, tumr cells are very difficult to completely eradicate due to areas inside the tumor that lack sufficient circulation and are impenetrable by immune system cells." The ValloVaxTM product is based on blood vessel cells generated in the laboratory in a manner which makes them resemble tumor blood vessels. The immune response against the "artificial tumor blood vessels" is believed to result in the selective killing of tumor blood vessels. "Leveraging the translational oncology experience of Dr. Minev, especially his work in the area of peptide vaccines and nanotechnology, will not only accelerate the FDA process for our cancer vaccine, but will also provide synergies in the area of new product pipeline development," said Samuel Wagner, President and CEO of Batu Biologics. "Being in the middle of a crowd funding campaign, we anticipate the recruitment of a major scientist like Dr. Minev to attract significant attention to our efforts." Earlier this month, Batu Biologics announced efforts to raise $100,000 through donation-based crowd funding to support completion of the company's preclinical research. Link to the campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/emerging-lung-cancer-vaccine-targets-tumor-blood-vessels-introducing-vallovax About Batu Biologics Founded in 2013, Batu Biologics is a preclinical biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing and commercializing allogeneic cell therapies in the area of immune modulation. The company's products are centered around the idea of creating or breaking immune tolerance. The company is currently in the preclinical stages of drug development for its two flagship products: Immstem and Vallovax. With the recent successes of immunotherapy in a variety of tumors, Batu Biologics believes there is an increasing unmet need for non-toxic immune modulators that can augment efficacy of existing therapeutics. Our team is motivated to bring novel therapeutics to the forefront of medical research that use the power of the body's own immune system to extend life expectancy. Batu Biologics has filed two provisional patents in the field of cancer immunotherapy and plans to significantly expand its IP in 2014.
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