Solving Kids’ Cancer to honor two industry leaders at 2018 Annual Spring Celebration Gala

APRIL 25, 2018

New York, NY: On Wednesday, May 16th, Solving Kids’ Cancer (SKC) will hold its annual Spring Celebration Benefit Gala. This event, SKC’s signature research fundraiser, draws industry leaders from across the nation to celebrate distinguished individuals who have contributed to the advancement of pediatric cancer therapies.  

The 2018 honorees are Usman “Oz” Azam, MD, President and CEO of Tmunity Therapeutics and Thomas Gad, Founder and President of Y-mAbs Therapeutics.

Dr. Azam is being recognized for his scientific achievements in the development of immuno-oncology therapies for children, specifically Kymriah (CD19 CAR-T), a treatment proven successful for children with relapsed/refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Dr. Azam’s efforts to accelerate clinical trials for children alongside adult investigational programs demonstrate his commitment to addressing unmet needs in pediatric oncology.  As a result, the pediatric clinical trial program and the subsequent commercial approval of Kymriah have provided unprecedented long-term remission to numerous children worldwide.

Thomas Gad is being honored for his success in obtaining FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for Omburtomab and for advancing two other pediatric therapies, Naxitamab and hu3f8-BsAb. By proposing innovative solutions to challenges otherwise considered intractable, Y-mAbs is uniquely positioned to globally improve survival rates for children with difficult to treat cancer types.

SKC strongly believes that immunotherapy is the emerging treatment modality that will lead to cures, and that these men have shown to be industry leaders in this sector.  

 

About Tmunity Therapeutics: Tmunity is a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on saving and improving lives by delivering the full potential of next-generation T cell immunotherapy to patients with devastating diseases. Integrating a foundational collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) with the groundbreaking scientific, clinical and manufacturing expertise and demonstrated track record of its founders (Carl June, MD; Bruce Blazar, MD; Bruce Levine, PhD; Yangbing Zhao, MD, PhD; Jim Riley, PhD; and Anne Chew, PhD), Tmunity represents a new center of gravity in translational T cell medicine. The company is developing a diversified portfolio of novel treatments that exhibit best-in-class control over T cell activation and direction in the body, with an initial focus in cancer with two programs currently in the clinic. With headquarters in Philadelphia, Tmunity utilizes laboratories and production facilities at Penn and its own dedicated cGMP manufacturing facility in Norristown, PA, to pursue process improvement and production scale-up in support of clinical development of its T cell therapies. For more information, visit www.tmunity.com.


About Y-mAbs: YmAbs is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel antibody-based therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer. We have a broad and clinically advanced product pipeline, including two late-stage and clinically validated product candidates, naxitamab and omburtamab, which target tumors that express ganglioside GD2 and B7-H3, respectively. Our mission is to become the world leader in developing better and safer antibody-based pediatric oncology products addressing clear unmet medical needs. We will expand into certain adult cancer indications and advance these in collaboration with our partners. To learn more, visit www.ymabs.com.

 

About Solving Kids’ Cancer: Founded in 2007 by two New York City fathers who lost children to cancer, Solving Kids’ Cancer (SKC) finds, funds and advocates for breakthrough treatment options to cure children with the most fatal cancers. Working with researchers and supported by nonprofit partnerships, SKC proactively identifies current unmet needs and works to bring innovative ideas to treatment centers throughout the US and Europe – because Every Kid Deserves to Grow Up. For more information visit www.solvingkidscancer.org, contact info@solvingkidscancer.org   

 

CONTACT

Kristi McKay

Solving Kids’ Cancer

kristi@solvingkidscancer.org

212-588-6624

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