Polyphor Hosting Key Opinion Leader Roundtable on Covid-19: The Need for Novel Therapies for Severe Infections and the Potential Role of Balixafortide, a Selective CXCR4 Antagonist

Webinar Roundtable Being Held Thursday, June 10th @ 8amET/2pmCET

ALLSCHWIL, Switzerland, June 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Polyphor AG (SIX: POLN) a research driven clinical stage, Swiss biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing best-in-class molecules in oncology and antimicrobial resistance, today announced that it will host a key opinion leader (KOL) roundtable on Covid-19, the need for novel therapies for severe infections and the potential role of balixafortide, a selective CXCR4 antagonist, on Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 8am Eastern Time/2pm Central European Time.

The webinar will feature a presentation by Key Opinion Leaders Thomas Klimkait, Ph.D., University of Basel, Andy Shorr, MD, Georgetown University, and Eliver Ghosn, Ph.D., Emory University, who will discuss the current treatment landscape and unmet medical need in treating patients with COVID-19, and research that demonstrates the importance of the CXCR4 pathway in Covid-associated inflammation and mortality, respectively. Drs. Klimkait, Shorr, and Ghosn will be available to answer questions following the formal presentations.

Polyphor’s management team will then discuss novel research findings of balixafortide relevant for COVID-19 infections. Balixafortide is a potent, selective CXCR4 antagonist which is currently also in Phase III development in combination with eribulin in patients with metastatic HER-2 negative breast cancer.

To register for the event, please click here.

Thomas Klimkait, Ph.D. is Research Group Leader for Molecular Virology at the University of Basel. Dr. Klimkait earned his Ph.D. thesis in Biology/Genetics at the Institute of Virology at the University of Cologne and has held various senior positions at the University of Basel, including Laboratory Head Serology, AbtID, Department Biomedicine, and Head of Diagnostic Virology and Serology. Dr. Klimkait is a member of many scientific societies, including the European Society for Translational Antiviral Research (ESAR) and the International AIDS Society, has received numerous awards for his work and co-authored 197 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Andy Shorr, M.D. is Head, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Medstar Washington Hospital Center and a Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University. His research focuses on issues related to severe pneumonia, health economics and epidemiology. Dr. Shorr earned his undergraduate degree in Public Policy at Princeton University, his medical degree at the University of Virginia and also holds an MPH from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from the University of Virginia. Dr Shorr is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physician. In addition to being a Fullbright Specialist, he has won multiple awards for his bedside teaching and his research.

Eliver Ghosn, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Emory University and a faculty member of the Lowance Center for Human Immunology and Emory Vaccine Center. He is also an affiliated faculty member of the Bioinformatics Program at Georgia Institute of Technology. His lab at Emory employs multi-omics single-cell technologies as a systems immunology approach to study the development and function of the immune system at different ages, from fetal life to adulthood. Dr. Ghosn received his Master’s degree in Infectious Diseases from the University of São Paulo in Brazil and his Doctorate in Developmental Immunology from the University of São Paulo and Stanford University. He spent 12 years at Stanford University applying high-dimensional technologies to study the development of the immune system, particularly the B-cell and macrophage development, and was Instructor of Genetics there until 2017, when he moved to Emory.

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About Polyphor

Polyphor is a research driven clinical-stage, Swiss biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing best-in-class molecules in oncology and antimicrobial resistance leveraging the company’s leading macrocyclic peptide technology platform. Polyphor is advancing balixafortide (POL6326) in a Phase III trial in combination with eribulin in patients with advanced breast cancer and exploring its potential in other cancer indications. In addition, it has discovered and is developing the Outer Membrane Protein Targeting Antibiotics (OMPTA). OMPTA are potentially the first new class of antibiotics in clinical development in the last 50 years against Gram-negative bacteria. The company’s lead OMPTA program is an inhaled formulation of murepavadin for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. Polyphor is based in Allschwil near Basel and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: POLN). For more information, please visit www.polyphor.com.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the Polyphor management. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual development, in particular Polyphor’s results, financial situation, and performance. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date of this communication. Polyphor disclaims any intention or obligation to update and revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.