Lytix Biopharma brings two scientists on board

Dr James Allison (PhD) is Regental Professor and Chair of Immunology and Executive Director of Immunotherapy at the MD Anderson Cancer Clinic, University of Texas. He is also a director of the Cancer Research Institute scientific advisory council. His research elucidated the mechanism behind T cell activation and pioneered the first immune checkpoint blocker drug for the treatment of cancer. Dr Allison was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work in 2018. His current research is focused on improving the utility of checkpoint blockade and identifying new targets to unleash the immune system to eradicate cancer.

Dr Padmanee Sharma (MD) is a leader in oncology specialising in kidney, bladder and prostate cancer. She is a professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology in the Division of Cancer Medicine, the T.C. and Jeanette Hsu Endowed Chair in Cell Biology, the Scientific Director of the Immunotherapy Platform and the Co-Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr Sharma’s primary focus is to understand resistant mechanisms within the immune system that impact response. Her research has recently implicated the checkpoint VISTA in inhibiting immune responses in prostate cancer.

Based in Oslo, Norway, Lytix Biopharma is a clinical stage biotech company developing novel cancer immunotherapies, an area within cancer therapy that is aimed at activating the patient’s immune system to fight cancer.