30 November 2017 - - US-based biotechnology company Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc's founder and CEO, William Hearl, Ph.D., has been appointed by Governor Larry Hogan to the Maryland Department of Commerce Life Sciences advisory board, the company said.

The LSAB was created in 2007 to assist in maintaining Maryland's strong presence in the life sciences industry. 

This board is made up of 18 members, including the secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce, a representative designated by the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) and 16 governor-appointed members.

Immunomic Therapeutics is developing their investigational LAMP technology in Maryland's bustling I-270 tech corridor.

LAMP is currently being applied in immunotherapy research for cancers, specifically glioblastoma multiforme, in a Phase II clinical trial that combines LAMP with a patented and proprietary cytomegalovirus immunotherapy platform.

Immunomic Therapeutics is specialised in the study of the LAMP-based nucleic acid immunotherapy platforms.

These investigational technologies have the potential to alter how we use immunotherapy for cancer, allergies and animal health.

On the heels of two landmark deals in 2015, including an exclusive worldwide license with Astellas Pharma Inc. to explore the use of LAMP-Vax for use in the prevention and treatment of allergic diseases which resulted in over USD 350m in licensing revenue that year, the company has now focused on the application of LAMP technology in oncology.

ITI's investigational LAMP-Vax platform is thought to work by encoding the Lysosomal Associated Membrane Protein, an endogenous protein in humans.

In this way, ITI's vaccines (DNA or RNA) have the potential to utilise the body's natural biochemistry to develop a broad immune response including antibody production, cytokine release and critical immunological memory.

This approach could put LAMP-Vax technology at the crossroads of immunotherapies in a number of illnesses, including cancer, allergy and infectious diseases. LAMP is currently being employed in Phase II clinical trials as a cancer immunotherapy.

ITI is also collaborating with academic centres and biotechnology companies to study the use of LAMP in cancer types of high mortality, including cases where there are limited treatment options like glioblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia.

ITI believes that these early clinical studies may provide a proof of concept for LAMP-Vax therapy in cancer, and if successful, set the stage for future studies, including combinations in these tumor types and others.

Preclinical data is currently being developed to explore whether LAMP nucleic acid constructs may amplify and activate the immune response in highly immunogenic tumor types and be used to create immune responses to tumor types that otherwise do not provoke an immune response.