IMUNON Expands Scientific Advisory Board with the Addition of Dr. Sachet Shukla

Renowned scientist will advise on the development of IMUNON’s FixPlas and IndiPlas modalities in immuno-oncology

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Aug. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IMUNON, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMNN), a clinical-stage drug-development company focused on developing non-viral DNA-mediated immunotherapy and next-generation vaccines, announces the addition of Sachet A. Shukla, Ph.D. to the company’s scientific advisory board (SAB). Dr. Shukla is Assistant Professor, Department of Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy (HBM), Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He joins current advisory board members Dan H. Barouch, M.D., Ph.D., John W. Shiver, Ph.D., and Luke D. Handke, Ph.D.

“We are honored to add Dr. Shukla to our scientific advisory board and are grateful that a scientist of his stature has chosen to work with IMUNON,” said Dr. Corinne Le Goff, president and chief executive officer of IMUNON. “We are eager to advance our FixPlas and IndiPlas modalities into universal and personalized cancer vaccines and have begun preclinical work in melanoma. Dr. Shukla will provide invaluable assistance as we advance along the development pathway and into clinical testing.”

Dr. Shukla is Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, Division of Basic Science Research at MD Anderson, where he also serves as Computational Director of MD Anderson’s ECLIPSE Moon Shot Research platform, and Director of HBM’s Cancer Vaccine Program. He previously worked as Computational Lead Scientist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which he joined in 2008. Dr. Shukla received his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in Bioinformatics and Statistics.

Dr. Shukla’s research studies focus on elucidating the role of the immune system in cancer biology and the discovery of novel immunotherapeutic targets through development of immunogenomic approaches. He developed a computational method called Polysolver for accurate typing and mutation detection in the highly polymorphic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes using next-generation sequencing data to address errors in genomic analysis of immune-related genes. He developed a computational pipeline for the rational design of neoantigen-based vaccines that has already been used in two first-in-man clinical trials at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The neoantigen prediction pipeline, in conjunction with the Polysolver tool, has also led to the identification of immunological correlates of several biological and clinical features in various tumor types. Dr. Shukla also worked in delineating mechanisms of response and resistance to immune therapies, particularly checkpoint blockade. His laboratory at MD Anderson is focused on antigen discovery and development of personalized immunotherapies. Dr. Shukla has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and has been recognized as one of the most highly cited researchers over the last decade as evidenced by multiple publications ranking in the top 1% by citations.

IMUNON is a fully integrated, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on advancing a portfolio of innovative treatments that harness the body’s natural mechanisms to generate safe, effective and durable responses across a broad array of human diseases, constituting a differentiating approach from conventional therapies. IMUNON is developing its non-viral DNA technology across four modalities. The first modality, TheraPlasTM, is developed for the coding of proteins and cytokines in the treatment of solid tumors where an immunological approach is deemed promising. The second modality, PlaCCine TM is developed for the coding of viral antigens that can elicit a strong immunological response. This technology may represent a promising platform for the development of vaccines in infectious diseases. The third modality, FixPlas TM, concerns the application of our DNA technology to produce universal cancer vaccines, also called tumor associated antigen cancer vaccines. The fourth modality, which is in the discovery phase, IndiPlas TM, will focus on the development of personalized cancer vaccines, or neoepitope cancer vaccines.

The Company’s lead clinical program, IMNN-001, is a DNA-based immunotherapy for the localized treatment of advanced ovarian cancer currently in Phase 2 development. IMNN-001 works by instructing the body to produce safe and durable levels of powerful cancer-fighting molecules, such as interleukin-12 and interferon gamma, at the tumor site. Additionally, the Company is conducting IND-enabling preclinical studies for the development of a COVID-19 booster vaccine: IMNN-101. The Company has also initiated preclinical work to develop a Trp2 tumor associated antigen cancer vaccine in melanoma: IMNN-201. We will continue to leverage these modalities and to advance the technological frontier of plasmid DNA to better serve patients with difficult-to-treat conditions. For more information on IMUNON, visit www.imunon.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

IMUNON wishes to inform readers that forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, unforeseen changes in the course of research and development activities and in clinical trials; the uncertainties of and difficulties in analyzing interim clinical data; the significant expense, time and risk of failure of conducting clinical trials; the need for IMUNON to evaluate its future development plans; possible acquisitions or licenses of other technologies, assets or businesses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors or regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in IMUNON’s periodic reports and prospectuses filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. IMUNON assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.

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