Indaptus Therapeutics Appoints Industry Veteran Roger Waltzman, M.D. Chief Medical Officer
NEW YORK, Aug. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indaptus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INDP), a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing transformative therapeutics for patients, announces the appointment of Roger Waltzman, M.D. as its Chief Medical Officer, effective August 7, 2023.
Jeffrey Meckler, Indaptus’ CEO commented, “Roger’s deep experience in drug development, particularly in the field of immuno-oncology, and his time as an officer at development and clinical-stage companies makes him an ideal candidate to assume the position of chief medical officer at Indaptus. We look forward to the rapid impact he will make on our development programs, as well as his invaluable contributions to the ongoing advancement of our Decoy platform as it continues in Phase 1 trials.”
Dr. Waltzman joins Indaptus from Molecular Templates, a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on discovery and development of immunotoxins. Prior, he served in the c-suite as Chief Medical Officer at Rgenix, Inc. (now Inspirna, Inc) and as Chief Scientific Officer at Jaguar Health. He spent nine years at Novartis, where he served in several leadership positions, including Global Program Head for Tropical Medicines and Clinical Program Head for several key brands, such as Glivec, Tasigna, and Jakavi.Dr. Waltzman spent the early part of his career as a medical oncologist, serving in two of New York City’s premiere hospitals, Mount Sinai Medical System and St. Vincent’s Hospital. He earned his M.D. degree at Brown University, where he also earned a bachelor’s degree in American Literature and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia University Business School.
“Indaptus has taken a unique approach to immuno-oncology, and the preclinical results of its Decoy program have been extremely encouraging. As the Company continues its INDP-D101 trial and beyond, I am enthusiastic about making a significant impact on the development program and working closely with management to advance this innovative platform for the benefit of patients,” added Dr. Waltzman.
About Indaptus Therapeutics
Indaptus Therapeutics has evolved from more than a century of immunotherapy advances. The Company’s novel approach is based on the hypothesis that efficient activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells and pathways and associated anti-tumor and anti-viral immune responses will require a multi-targeted package of immune system-activating signals that can be administered safely intravenously (i.v.). Indaptus’ patented technology is composed of single strains of attenuated and killed, non-pathogenic, Gram-negative bacteria producing a multiple Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonist Decoy platform. The products are designed to have reduced i.v. toxicity, but largely uncompromised ability to prime or activate many of the cells and pathways of innate and adaptive immunity. Decoy products represent an antigen-agnostic technology that have produced single-agent activity against metastatic pancreatic and orthotopic colorectal carcinomas, single agent eradication of established antigen-expressing breast carcinoma, as well as combination-mediated eradication of established hepatocellular carcinomas and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas in standard pre-clinical models, including syngeneic mouse tumors and human tumor xenografts. In pre-clinical studies, tumor eradication was observed with Decoy products in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint therapy, low-dose chemotherapy, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or an approved, targeted antibody. Combination-based tumor eradication in pre-clinical models produced innate and adaptive immunological memory, involved activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells, and was associated with induction of innate and adaptive immune pathways in tumors after only one i.v. dose of Decoy product, with associated “cold” to “hot” tumor inflammation signature transition. IND-enabling, nonclinical toxicology studies demonstrated safe i.v. administration without sustained induction of hallmark biomarkers of cytokine release syndrome, possibly due to passive targeting to liver, spleen, and tumor, followed by rapid elimination of the product. Indaptus’ Decoy products have also produced significant single agent activity against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in pre-clinical models.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements with the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These include statements regarding management’s expectations, beliefs and intentions regarding, among other things: our expectations and plans regarding the Phase 1 clinical trial of Decoy20, including the timing and design thereof; the plans and objectives of management for future operations; our research and development activities and costs; the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities to fund our ongoing activities and our cash management strategy; and our assessment of financing options to support our corporate strategy. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “may”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “seek”, “target”, “will”, “project”, “forecast”, “continue” or “anticipate” or their negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical matters. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to the following: our limited operating history; the need for, and our ability to raise, additional capital given our lack of current cash flow; our clinical and preclinical development, which involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome; our incurrence of significant research and development expenses and other operating expenses, which may make it difficult for us to attain profitability; our pursuit of a limited number of research programs, product candidates and specific indications and failure to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or have a greater likelihood of success; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of any product candidate; the market acceptance of our product candidates; our reliance on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and perform other tasks; our reliance on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates during clinical development; our ability to successfully commercialize Decoy20 or any future product candidates; our ability to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products; the impact of legislation and healthcare reform measures on our ability to obtain marketing approval for and commercialize Decoy20 and any future product candidates; product candidates of our competitors that may be approved faster, marketed more effectively, and better tolerated than our product candidates; our ability to adequately protect our proprietary or licensed technology in the marketplace; the impact of, and costs of complying with healthcare laws and regulations, and our failure to comply with such laws and regulations; information technology system failures, cyberattacks or deficiencies in our cybersecurity; and unfavorable global economic conditions. These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on May 11, 2023, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 17, 2023, and our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this press release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law.
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