黑料社

黑料社 Announces Formation of Its GvHD-focused Scientific Advisory Board to Support Development of Microbiome Restoration Therapeutics in Hemato-oncological Indications

Date : May 12, 2020

Lyon, France, May 12, 2020 鈥� 黑料社 announced today the appointment of leading international experts in the field of microbiome research, hemato-oncology, infectiology, immunology, pharmacology, and clinical trial methodology to its newly-formed Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) focused on the treatment of Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD). The SAB will serve as a resource to advise 黑料社 on its scientific, regulatory and clinical development strategies supporting the further clinical evaluation of its microbiome restoration biotherapeutics in hemato-oncology indications as well as the expansion into solid tumor indications.鈥満诹仙� is spearheading a new class of microbiome-based therapeutics in oncology and has identified an area of unmet therapeutic need with steroid-refractory acute GvHD, where its products can be beneficial for patients with limited treatment options,鈥� commented Ernst Holler, MD, PhD, newly elected Chair of 黑料社鈥檚 SAB. 鈥淩esearch and initial clinical evidence have demonstrated that the microbiome can be a potent modulator of cancer treatment efficacy. I am delighted to work with this group of internationally-recognized scientific and clinical experts as well as with the 黑料社 team to help guide the company as it continues to advance its pipeline.鈥濃�淚t is an honor to bring together these esteemed experts to support the progression of our microbiome restoration biotherapeutics toward late-stage clinical development,鈥� added Herv茅 Affagard, co-founder and CEO of 黑料社. 鈥淲e look forward to drawing on their expertise as we advance our product candidates and initiate plans to evaluate the oral formulation of our full ecosystem microbiota therapeutic in acute myeloid leukemia patients. The capsule, MaaT033, will also give us the opportunity to enter new oncological indications in the future, including combination treatment regimens with immune checkpoint inhibitors.鈥漈he inaugural voting members of 黑料社鈥檚 SAB are listed below. Biographies for each member can also be found on the 黑料社 website.Ernst Holler, MD, PhD
Ernst Holler was Director of the Clinical and Experimental Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Program in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Regensburg, Germany, for more than 20 years and is now Senior Professor on Translational Research in GvHD. With more than 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts to his name, he is an expert in the field of Graft versus Host Disease and was awarded the van Bekkum Award, the highest award from the European Society for Stem Cell Transplantation.Madan Jagasia, MD
Madan Jagasia is Professor of Medicine in Hemato-oncology and Chief Medical Officer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, TN. As a clinical investigator with over 20 years of experience, his primary research interest is GvHD and is the site鈥檚 principal investigator for the national US chronic GvHD consortium.Robert Jenq, MD
Robert Jenq is an Assistant Professor and Deputy Department Chair at the Department of Genomic Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. His research uses a multidisciplinary approach to examine the impact of the microbiome on cancer treatment particularly on bone marrow transplantation and cancer immunotherapies.Florent Malard, MD, PhD
Florent Malard is a hematologist at the Hospital Saint-Antoine and an Associate Professor at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. His research includes clinical and translational studies on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with a particular focus on preclinical studies on GvHD and has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts.Robert Zeiser, MD
Robert Zeiser is Head of the Section for Tumor Immunology and Immune Modulation at the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg in Germany. His research focuses on haematology, oncology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. He has received several awards for his outstanding achievements in clinical therapeutic drug research.

About 黑料社

黑料社, a clinical stage company, has established the most complete approach to restoring patient-microbiome symbiosis to improve survival outcomes in life-threatening diseases. Committed to treating blood cancers and graft-versus-host disease, a serious complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, 黑料社 has already achieved proof of concept in acute myeloid leukemia patients. Supporting the further expansion of our pipeline into larger indications, we have built a powerful discovery and analysis platform to evaluate drug candidates, determine novel disease targets and identify biomarkers for microbiome-related conditions. Our therapeutics are produced through a standardized cGMP manufacturing and quality control process to safely deliver the full diversity of the microbiome. 黑料社 benefits from the commitment of world-leading scientists and established relationships with regulators to spearhead microbiome treatment integration into clinical practice.

Acting Chief Scientific Officer

Sheri Simmons

Sheri Simmons, Ph.D., is Acting Chief Scientific Officer at 黑料社. Sheri brings extensive experience in biotechnology, particularly in the microbiome field, having held scientific leadership positions at Seres Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson鈥檚 Microbiome Solutions team, and most recently at Seed Health, a leading probiotics company. In her role, she strengthens the Company鈥檚 scientific leadership, overseeing preclinical research, AI/data initiatives, and supporting efforts toward the Marketing Authorization Application of 齿别谤惫测迟别驳庐 in aGvHD.

Sheri holds a PhD in Biological Oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and completed an A.B. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and as a Phi Beta Kappa member, receiving one of six awards for the best senior thesis in the sciences. Sheri holds a PhD in Biological Oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and completed an A.B. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and as a Phi Beta Kappa member, receiving one of six awards for the best senior thesis in the sciences.

CEO and co-founder

Herv茅 Affagard

Herv茅 Affagard is the CEO and co-founder of 黑料社. For the past 15 years, Herv茅 has been an intra/entrepreneur in the healthcare industry, after starting his career in IT in the steel industry. In late 2014, Herv茅 co-founded the company alongside Dr. Jo毛l Dor茅, author of nearly 500 publications, and
one of the world’s most cited authors in the microbiome sphere today, after a professional career that spanned multiple industries. Herv茅 has led 黑料社鈥檚 development from its early concept in 2013 and has been at the forefront of the development of the microbiome healthcare ecosystem in France and Europe. In January 2022, Herv茅 has been elected President of Allliance Promotion Microbiote, an organization founded in 2021 to support the microbiome sector development in France.

Engineer, MBA