Jogging in Seoul…Marrying Your Cousin…Why and Why Not? | March Blog

Not that you were going to anyway, but here’s why: Never mind the family scandal which goes on and on and on (trust me)…but if you have kids, beside the possibility that they might be a FLK, there is an increased chance that they will do worse if they get cancer. Why? New research shows that cancer patients who are HLA-homozygous have worse outcomes. This is because…well, cancer is exactly like a pathogen invading your body, and, as has been observed for infectious diseases, HLA DIVERSITY improves SURVIVAL. Do we really need another reason to trumpet diversity? Well, apparently we do…

 

…and Tregitopes are Good for You!

Here’s the good news about Tregitopes for folks with allergies: We have beautiful new studies that show that Tregitopes can induce allergen-specific adaptive tolerance to allergens. I’ll be presenting the new data (thanks Marieme Dembele and Bruce Mazer) showing antigen-specific tolerance induced by Tregitopes on March 28 at 3:30PM at the Wyndham Boston Beacon Hill (See meeting details below). Tregitopes are natural Treg epitope sequences found in IgG (in case you forgot 🙂).

Whoa people, the smog is seriously bad in Seoul! Fortunately, we were in air conditioned splendor at the JW Marriott in Gangnam (yes, remember the pop song?). It was great to see our friends Dr. Joon Haeng Rhee (Chonnam National University), Dr. Dong Seok Kim (AevisBio), and Dr. Yoonjoo Choi (Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology). Photos of the event can be found on our website. The Seoul Immunogenicity and Tolerance Seminar featured presentations on immunogenicity, including novel adjuvants, immune modulators, and protein drug and vaccine development. Attendees: Request your copy of my presentation slides here.

 

BIO-Europe Spring – Vienna, Austria: Partner with our Business Development Manager, Katie Porter, and European Business Representative, Paul von Hoegen, March 25-27 at the Congress Center Wien. Learn about our proprietary immunogenicity assessment tools. Afterwards, meet Katie and Paul at a swanky location. Reserve your seat.

 

 

Antigen-Specific Immune Tolerance Drug Development Summit – Boston, Massachusetts: I will be presenting and speaking. Join me for some networking afterwards – contact me here to save your spot. Until then, read more about our Tregitope technology on our website. For licensing opportunities, contact us.

 

 

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EPIVAX ONCOLOGY TEAM!

EpiVax Oncology’s (E/O) new data showing that taking Tregs out of cancer vaccines improves their efficacy will be presented at the AACR meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Guilhem Richard PhD will showcase E/O’s approach to personalized cancer vaccines in the Georgia Ballroom 3 – Building C on March 31, 3:50PM – 4:05PM. View his presentation slides ahead of time! Want to meet E/O CEO Gad Berdugo? Email me here for an introduction.

EpiVax’s Director of Vaccine Research, Lenny Moise PhD will be speaking at the Influenza Vaccines for the World Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland on April 2 at the Royal College of Physicians. Lenny will present EpiVax’s work in influenza vaccine development.

The Epi-Team will also be at the NFID’s Annual Conference in Vaccinology. This event will take place April 3-5 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor. Meet some of the newest members of our Vaccine Research team in Baltimore and learn more about our newest work in vaccine design.

Did anyone say Spring Skiing? YES! Check it out: Keystone Symposia: Antibodies as Drugs at Breckenridge, Colorado. Sarah Moniz and I will be hitting the Colorado Ballroom at Beaver Run Resort April 7-11. Let me know if you plan to be there and we’ll organize a soirée! Email me here.

PEGS Summit – Boston, Massachusetts: Meet the Epi-Team leader on Protein Therapeutics Brian Roberts at the Seaport World Trade Center, April 8-12. Word has it that there is a gathering at Legal Sea Foods…if you’re interested in joining the fun, contact us or fill out our registration form!

World Vaccine Congress – Washington, D.C: Lenny and I will be at WVC, April 14-17 at the Renaissance Washington. Please email Karen Nelson if you want to schedule a meeting here.