– Seasoned biotech expert to support corporate development

Leiden, The Netherlands, September 02, 2019 – ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on rationally designed immunotherapeutics against cancer and persistent viral infections, today announced the addition of Dr. Markwin Velders to its Supervisory Board. Dr. Velders brings many years of experience in the biotech industry and currently holds a position as VP Operations and Managing Director at Kite Pharma EU, a leading company in the field of immuno-oncology and cell therapy.

“As we are entering the final stages of clinical development for our lead product ISA101b, we are happy to further strengthen our Supervisory Board with expertise to support our product development activities. We are delighted to welcome Markwin. He brings very valuable experience in the development and commercialization of immuno-oncology therapies,” said Gerben Moolhuizen, CEO of ISA Pharmaceuticals. “His contribution will certainly be of value in the next phase of our development.”

Markwin Velders´ career in the biotech industry covers management roles in research, development, quality management and business development. Before joining Kite, he held positions as Chief Scientific Officer at AM-Pharma, Business Unit Manager at TNO Biosciences, and Chief Executive Officer at SomantiX. After joining Kite, he established the company’s EU headquarters in Amsterdam, helped to advance clinical development and played a role in preparing for the commercial launch in Europe after the acquisition by Gilead. Most recently, he has been involved in the establishment of Kite’s CAR-T commercial manufacturing site in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. Markwin Velders is Chair of HollandBIO – the association of Dutch biotech companies – and holds a PhD in Molecular Immunology. He has successfully pursued an academic career in tumor immunology, covering over 40 scientific papers and publications.

“I am highly motivated to join the Supervisory Board at ISA Pharmaceuticals,” said Markwin Velders. ”The company is at a very exciting development stage and is working in close collaboration with Regeneron to bring their first product to market. Clinical data generated with ISA’s SLP- and AMPLIVANT-based product candidates are very promising and I look forward to supporting ISA’s maturation into a commercial-stage company.“

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About ISA Pharmaceuticals

ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V. is an immunotherapy company developing rationally designed, fully synthetic immunotherapeutics against cancer and persistent viral infections. The Company has built a proprietary immunotherapy platform based on the Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP®) concept and AMPLIVANT® technology. SLP® immunotherapies are designed to fully harness and direct the body’s own defenses towards fighting the disease. In December 2017, ISA Pharmaceuticals closed a clinical immuno-oncology collaboration with Regeneron to advance its SLP® lead compound ISA101, an immunotherapy targeting human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-induced cancer, in combination with cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo®), a PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) antibody in development by Regeneron and Sanofi, which was recently approved by the FDA as monotherapy for patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation. ISA develops a diverse SLP® immunotherapy portfolio targeting unmet medical needs in cancer and chronic infections, including tailored therapy for rare diseases.

SLP® and AMPLIVANT® are registered trademarks in Europe.