Founding Members Include Scientific and Industry Leaders in Cancer Research, DNA and RNA Manufacturing, and Drug Discovery and Development SAB Further enhances Calviri’s Strategic Capabilities as Company Seeks to Advance its Growing Pipeline of Cancer Vaccines and Diagnostics Terry McInnis, MD, MPH, Appointed SAB Chair.
PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Calviri, Inc. (“the Company”), is a fully integrated healthcare company whose mission is to provide a broad spectrum of fundamentally different therapeutic/preventative cancer vaccines and companion early diagnostics. Calviri is focused on using frameshift neoantigens derived from errors in RNA processing to provide pioneering products against cancer.
The newly formed SAB will collaborate closely with Calviri’s senior leadership team and support the advancement of the company’s diversified portfolio of diagnostic platforms and therapeutic cancer vaccines pipeline targeting both human and animal health.
“We are proud and excited to have such an accomplished and diverse group of scientific thought leaders and industry experts joining our SAB who share our commitment to end deaths from cancer,” said Marc Wolff, Chief Executive Officer of Calviri. “We will be working closely with the Board as we bring Calviri products into clinical trials and commercialization,” said Dr. Stephen Albert Johnston, Calviri’s founder. The Board will be chaired by Dr. Terry McInnis.
John Ballantyne, Ph.D., has over 23 years of experience in the development and manufacture of DNA, RNA and proteins across the research, diagnostic and licensed drug product spectrum. He co-founded Aldevron (now a Danaher operating company) directly out of graduate school in 1998 and has served as its Chief Scientific Officer since inception. Much of his focus outside of industrialization of biologicals manufacturing has been dedicated to working with military researchers to produce countermeasures to high threat/weaponizable viruses and in the development of systems for “n of 1” therapies in the oncology space. Dr. Ballantyne also has an interest in the anti-cancer and molecular-adjuvanting properties of a novel class of superantigens and has supported the technical and clinical maturation of these moieties through his research and development group for over a decade. His areas of expertise include large-scale biologicals production, purification systems and novel ligand/matrix designs, pharmacokinetics, and clinical path forward design and support. Dr. Ballantyne received his undergraduate degrees in Pharmacy at the Central Institute of Technology and the University of Otago in New Zealand and his doctorate from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at North Dakota State University.
Steven W. Dow, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM (Internal Medicine), is currently a professor of immunology in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. He is the director of the Laboratory for Immunotherapy, which develops new immunotherapy approaches for treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. The laboratory currently has active programs in immunotherapy for metastatic bone cancer and for brain cancer, with trials underway in dogs and in rodent models. The laboratory also develops immunotherapies to treat and prevent viral and bacterial infections of the eye and respiratory tract. The laboratory is also developing new non-invasive, next generation diagnostic technologies for pulmonary and gastrointestinal diseases. Dr. Dow received his DVM from the University of Georgia and completed a residency in small animal internal medicine at CSU. He then completed a PhD program in Comparative Pathology also at CSU. After that, Dr. Dow completed a post-doctoral fellowship and instructorship at the National Jewish Hospital and the University of Colorado, before joining the faculty of the Department of Clinical Sciences at CSU in 2002.
Peter P. Lee, M.D., is Billy and Audrey L. Wilder Endowed Professor in Cancer Immunotherapeutics and Chair of the Department of Immuno-Oncology at Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope. He is also co-leader of the Cancer Immunotherapeutics Program of the City of Hope NCI Cancer Center Support Grant. Dr. Lee received his medical degree at University of California San Diego and completed fellowships at both Stanford University and University of California San Francisco. The focus of his research is on understanding how cancer impacts host immune responses in patients, with the goal of developing novel treatments to restore/enhance immune function in cancer patients.
Terry A. McInnis, M.D., MPH, CPE, is currently President and Founder of Blue Thorn Inc. and serves as consulting Chief Medical Officer for Arine (Arine.io), and as a senior consultant with SSB Solutions. Dr. McInnis has led consulting engagements or been a keynote speaker for more than 100 companies enabling business models to successfully transform in an era of precision medicine and value-based care. Additionally, her 30+ year career includes a 360-degree view of healthcare including multi-sector physician executive roles with GE, GlaxoSmithKline, Michelin, Cornerstone Health, LabCorp, and the US Air Force. She uses her experience in regulatory, policy, commercialization, and provider/payment systems to work with innovative companies in the diagnostics, pharmaceutical, and technology space to rapidly close the gap between scientific discovery and actual care of the patient with successful go to market strategies.
Dr. McInnis received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Wake Forest University Medical School and completed a residency in Preventive Medicine and obtained her MPH from the University of Oklahoma. She is a Certified Physician Executive (CPE), and a Former Course Advisor to the Department of Continuing Education of Harvard University.
About Calviri, Inc.
Calviri is a fully integrated healthcare company whose mission is to provide a broad spectrum of fundamentally different vaccines and companion diagnostics that prevent and treat cancer for those either at risk or diagnosed. Calviri is focused on using frameshift neoantigens derived from errors in RNA processing to provide pioneering products against cancer. The company is a spin out of the Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University. For more information, please visit www.calviri.com