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About Pique
The mainstay of oncology treatment today is the use of cytotoxic drugs, commonly known as chemotherapies. Although these treatments historically have been the standard of care in cancer therapeutics, none of them is targeted to kill only cancer cells. Therefore, massive numbers of normal cells are destroyed during chemotherapy, and the collateral damage of normal cells has a profound effect on the function of organ systems that normally protect the body.
Through its novel, proprietary therapeutic vaccine platform, Pique Therapeutics is developing a portfolio of therapeutic vaccine products. Therapeutic vaccines have the potential to be much safer than traditional cytotoxic drugs, as they operate under a different mechanism of action. Instead of indiscriminately killing all cells, therapeutic vaccines stimulate the body’s own immune system to fight the cancer, resulting in therapies that may have improved side effect profiles and provide a better quality of life for the patient. The Company believes that its technology affords it the opportunity to create therapeutic vaccine candidates targeting a number of important cancers in addition to non-small cell lung cancer, such as pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and head & neck cancer.
Pique Theapeutics’ lead product is a first-in-class therapeutic vaccine, and is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC is the most common form of lung cancer, accounting for over 80% of the disease. It is estimated that there are over 1,000,000 new cases of NSCLC diagnosed each year worldwide, with nearly 200,000 of those cases in the United States alone. NSCLC is the #1 cancer killer in the United States, causing more deaths than colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined. It is a particularly aggressive cancer; indeed, the five-year survival for late-stage NSCLC is less than 5%, despite surgical intervention, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Management and Board of Directors
Christopher S. Meldrum – President
Mr. Christopher Meldrum serves as President of Pique Therapeutics. Over his career, he has worked extensively with development-stage biotechnology companies, helping to secure initial financing for multiple start-up ventures. Prior to his work at Pique, Mr. Meldrum held the position of Director, Corporate Alliances, at Paradigm Genetics, a publicly-traded biotechnology company, where he led business development efforts for both the healthcare and agriculture businesses. Over the course of his career, he has successfully led negotiations for more than 80 fully-executed deals. Mr. Meldrum received his MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, and his B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Utah.
Eckhard R. Podack, M.D., Ph.D. – Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Eckhard Podack serves as Chief Scientific Officer and a Director of Pique Therapeutics. In addition to his work with the Company, Dr. Podack is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Miami, and the Associate Director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Podack is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and over 50 invited reviews. Over the course of his career, he has received significant grant support, including more than 20 grants from the NIH. He also has clinical experience in the LAK (lymphokine-activated killer cell) trial (Roche’s IND for IL-2), as well as for PT 107. Dr. Podack received his Ph.D. from the University of Göttingen, Germany, and his M.D. from the University of Frankfurt, Germany.
Keith Dionne, Ph.D. – Director
Dr. Keith Dionne serves as a Director of Pique Therapeutics. In addition to his work with the Company, Dr. Dionne is Chief Executive Officer of Surface Logix, a drug development company based in Cambridge. He brings nearly 20 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology industry to the company. Prior to joining Surface Logix, Dr. Dionne was CEO of Alantos Pharmaceuticals, where he led the company through its successful acquisition by Amgen for more than $300 million in cash. Prior to Alantos, Dr. Dionne held executive-level positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and chaired the Portfolio Development Committee responsible for advancing compounds from early development through launch. Before his tenure with Millennium, Dr. Dionne served as Head of Pre-Clinical Research & Development: Implants at ALZA Pharmaceuticals, and was one of four original scientists at CytoTherapeutics, Inc., a cell transplantation company. He has served as an Adjunct Professor in the Biomedical Department at Brown University. Dr. Dionne received both his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and his M.S. in the Program for Technology Policy from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jay Brennan, J.D., MBA – Director
Mr. Jay Brennan serves as a Director of Pique Therapeutics, and brings a wealth of diverse management experiences to the Company. Over the past 20 years he has owned or operated a variety of distribution, manufacturing, and service businesses. In those businesses he has been involved in start-ups, new product development, high performance team development, and geographical sales expansion in addition to standard finance, sales, marketing, and operations functions. For the past two years, Mr. Brennan has been actively involved in the Piedmont Angel Network, serving on the Screening Committee and numerous due diligence teams. Mr. Brennan received his J.D. and MBA degrees from the University of Virginia, and received his B.A. from Colgate University.
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