Signadori Bio Appoints Dr. Selwyn Ho as CEO to Advance Novel Monocyte Immunotherapy Platform
核心洞察
Signadori Bio (搜索), a preclinical biopharmaceutical company, has appointed Dr. Selwyn Ho as CEO to lead development of its next-generation monocyte immunotherapy platform for solid tumors (搜索).
The company's innovative approach engineers monocytes to express P21 (CDKN1A (搜索)), a master regulator of myeloid anti-tumor activity, with promising preclinical data showing potent cancer (搜索) cell killing across multiple cancer types.
Dr. Ho brings nearly 30 years of experience in immuno-oncology and cell therapy, having previously served as CEO of Medigene AG and EVP at Connect Biopharma (搜索).
Signadori Bio (搜索), a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative monocyte immunotherapy platform for solid tumors (搜索), announced the appointment of Dr. Selwyn Ho as Chief Executive Officer. The leadership change comes as the company reports promising preclinical proof-of-concept data demonstrating potent cancer (搜索) cell killing across multiple cancer types using its core technology that engineers monocytes to express P21 (CDKN1A (搜索)), a master regulator of myeloid anti-tumor activity.
Experienced Leadership for Clinical Advancement
Dr. Ho brings nearly 30 years of experience across commercialization, drug development, and multiple pre- and post-product launches, with particular expertise in ophthalmology, immunology, and immuno-oncology. His background spans cell therapy, monoclonal antibodies, and multi-specific antibody modalities.
Most recently, Dr. Ho served as Chief Executive Officer of Medigene AG, a German publicly listed immuno-oncology company developing T cell receptor (TCR (搜索)) guided modalities for solid tumor treatment, including autologous TCR-T cell therapies, off-the-shelf TCR-T cell engagers (TCR-TCE), and other allogeneic TCR guided cell modalities. At Medigene, he led the strategic pivot into off-the-shelf treatment development while advancing the lead autologous cell therapy program to successful IND and CTA approval.
Prior to Medigene, Dr. Ho was EVP and Chief Business Officer at Connect Biopharma (搜索), a US immunology-focused biotech listed on NASDAQ (CNTB), where he supported the successful crossover financing, subsequent upsized over-subscribed IPO, and the build-out of the company's US operations and footprint.
Novel Monocyte Platform Technology
Signadori Bio (搜索)'s approach aims to overcome challenges in the tumor microenvironment by harnessing the immune potential of gene-modified monocytes. The company's next-generation, off-the-shelf, in vivo engineered monocyte immunotherapy platform is designed to address many challenges and unmet needs currently seen with immunotherapies and autologous cell therapies.
"Signadori Bio (搜索)'s vision to develop a next generation, in vivo engineered monocyte therapy for solid tumours, based on P21 expression, aims to address many of the challenges and unmet needs currently seen with immunotherapies and autologous cell therapies," said Dr. Ho.
Strategic Vision and Next Steps
The transition follows promising preclinical data supporting the company's unique approach. Dr. Ho expressed enthusiasm for the platform's potential, stating: "I am excited for the significant potential of our unique approach, supported by promising early pre-clinical data. I look forward to working closely with Matthieu Coutet, Sofinnova Partners (搜索), our investors, and our co-founders Dr. Jean-Luc Perfettini and Prof. Nathalie Chaput-Gras as well as building on the excellent research from Gustave-Roussy, together with our team of dedicated scientists, to advance the company toward its next set of milestones."
Matthieu Coutet, Partner at Sofinnova Partners (搜索), who previously served as interim CEO and will now move to Chair of the Board, commented: "Selwyn brings a rare combination of strategic leadership and deep operational experience in immuno-oncology and advanced therapies, which makes him uniquely suited to lead Signadori Bio (搜索) at this stage. We have strong conviction in the company's differentiated monocyte platform and the quality of the team and look forward to supporting its continued progress toward the clinic."
Foundation in Leading Cancer Research
The company was founded by Dr. Jean-Luc Perfettini and Professor Nathalie Chaput, based on research conducted at Gustave Roussy (搜索), a leading European cancer (搜索) center. The co-founders emphasized their commitment to the scientific vision: "Selwyn's appointment marks an important milestone for Signadori Bio (搜索), and we warmly welcome him to the team. As co-founders, we remain deeply committed to the scientific vision that underpins our platform, harnessing the immune potential of gene-modified monocytes to address unmet needs in solid tumour treatment. We are confident that Selwyn's expertise will accelerate our path to the clinic."
Signadori Bio (搜索) is based in Paris and backed by Sofinnova Partners (搜索), a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences with over €4 billion in assets under management and 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies in the healthcare sector.