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Utrecht, The Netherlands and Philadelphia, Jan. 8, 2020 –Lava Therapeutics (“LAVA”) today announced that James P. Allison, Ph.D., a 2018 Nobel Prize recipient in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation, and Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., a scientific leader in oncology, specializing in renal, bladder and prostate cancer, have joined the company’s Advisory Board.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jim and Pam, two of the most respected leaders in the field of oncology, to our Advisory Board,” said Steve Hurly, Chief Executive Officer of LAVA. “We believe we are at the forefront of developing gamma-delta T cell engagers, which represents a novel class of potential treatments for a range of cancer indications. As we approach this next phase as a clinical-stage company, Jim and Pam’s collective insights and deep expertise will be invaluable, and we are excited to be collaborating with them.”

Dr. Paul Parren, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D for LAVA added, “Jim’s and Pam’s willingness to join LAVA’s Advisory Board is a transformative event for our young company, as it strongly increases our potential for developing truly transformative cancer drugs based our exciting bispecific gamma-delta T cell engaging technology. We are pleased to have them on board and look forward to leveraging their expertise as we advance our programs.”

Dr. James Allison

Dr. Allison has spent his career studying the regulation of T cell responses. Dr. Allison’s work led to the development of an antibody to human CTLA-4 called ipilimumab which became the first immune checkpoint blockade therapy ever approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The approval of ipilimumab cleared the path for the emerging field of immune checkpoint blockade therapy in the treatment of cancer. His current work is focused on improving immune checkpoint blockade therapies and identifying new targets to unleash the immune system and eradicate cancer. Dr. Allison is a member of the National Academies of Science and Medicine and is currently Regental Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology, the Vivian L. Smith Distinguished Chair in Immunology, the Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform and Co-Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Padmanee Sharma

Dr. Sharma is focused on understanding resistance mechanisms within the immune system that impact anti-tumor responses. For more than a decade, she has been a principal investigator for multiple clinical trials to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies. Dr. Sharma’s work on new pathways to treat prostate cancer implicated, for the first time in a human tumor, the checkpoint VISTA in inhibiting immune responses. In partnership with Dr. Allison, Dr. Sharma is currently exploring combinations of immunological therapies and targeted drugs in preclinical studies to treat a variety of cancers more effectively. Dr. Sharma is a professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology in the Division of Cancer Medicine, the T.C. and Jeanette Hsu Endowed Chair in Cell Biology, the Scientific Director of the Immunotherapy Platform and the Co-Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

About Lava Therapeutics, Inc.

Lava Therapeutics’ proprietary platform is focused on developing next generation γδ T cell engaging bispecific antibodies to treat cancer. Our first-in-class immuno-oncology approach specifically activates Vγ9Vδ2 T cells upon binding to a tumor target. LAVA’s vision is to develop therapeutics for the curative treatment of cancer. Founded in 2016, LAVA has grown into a start-up company with a highly experienced antibody research and development team located in Utrecht, the Netherlands (Headquarters) and Philadelphia. www.lavatherapeutics.com.

Contact

Alicia Davis | THRUST Strategic Communications | alicia@thrustsc.com

‘s Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, 23 May 2018 – Lava Therapeutics (“LAVA”) today announced it has raised EUR 16 million in its first major institutional financing round from an investor syndicate led by Gilde Healthcare and Versant Ventures with additional support from US-based MRL Ventures Fund (MRLV), joining founder investors Lupus Ventures and Biox Biosciences. The funding will support development of LAVA’s proprietary pipeline of bispecific gamma-delta (γδ) T cell engagers for the treatment of cancer. LAVA also announced the appointment of Paul Parren, PhD, as Executive Vice President and Head of Research & Development. Dr. Parren joins the company as an internationally recognized antibody drug innovator and developer.

As part of the financing, LAVA established a Supervisory Board including Stefan Luzi, PhD of Gilde Healthcare, Guido Magni, MD, PhD, of Versant Ventures and Reza Halse, PhD of MRLV. They join Erik van den Berg, who will serve as Chairman of the Board, and biotech entrepreneur Jan van der Hoeven.

“The quality of the investors and the size of this financing underscores the potential of LAVA’s approach and its commitment to establishing itself as a leader in the T cell engager field with our vision centered on creating a new standard for potent and safe cancer treatments,” said Mr. van den Berg. “The arrival of Paul Parren further validates the technology and LAVA’s dedication to developing a differentiated product pipeline.”

“LAVA’s differentiated T-cell engager platform has the potential to target oncology settings of high unmet need. Based on cutting edge Dutch science, LAVA fits very well in Gilde Healthcare’s portfolio which includes first- and best-in-class therapeutics throughout Europe and the US,” said Dr. Luzi from Gilde Healthcare.

“By engaging and re-directing in-vivo gamma delta T cells against tumors, LAVA’s approach represents an innovative and unique platform technology capable of exploiting the immune system, with multiple potential applications in the therapy of solid and liquid cancers. We are enthusiastic about working with LAVA’s team to move this exciting technology forward,” said Dr. Magni from Versant Ventures.

Paul Parren joins Lava Therapeutics with 30 years of experience in antibody science and drug development. For the past 16 years he served as Genmab’s Head of Preclinical Development and Research, translating antibody biology successfully into immunotherapies from discovery to the clinic, including approved therapeutic antibodies ofatumumab and daratumumab, as well as establishing validated antibody platform technologies. Dr. Parren is a Professor of Molecular Immunology at the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, the Netherlands, board member of The Antibody Society and was an Associate Professor at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. He holds a PhD in Molecular Immunology from the University of Amsterdam.

“The opportunity at LAVA is to develop a novel pipeline of targeted biologic therapeutics to safely channel the immune system’s response towards tumors. I am looking forward to working with the LAVA team to build an organization that brings the exciting γδ T cell engager platform to its fullest potential and rapidly translate it to the clinic,” added Dr. Parren.

To date, the company has demonstrated proof of principle for the platform, building on the scientific discoveries of the research team headed by Dr. Hans van der Vliet, medical oncologist at the Department of Medical Oncology of the VU University Medical Center and Cancer Center Amsterdam and CSO of Lava Therapeutics. LAVA will use the EUR 16 million investment to further develop and validate its bispecific γδ T cell engager platform, broaden its pipeline and to develop a lead candidate for clinical testing.

About γδ T cells
γδ T cells are a potent class of proinflammatory immune effector cells and one of two main categories of T lymphocytes. γδ T cells provide effective tumor immunosurveillance and anti-tumor immune responses against a wide variety of both solid and hematological malignancies. Human γδ T cells are classified based on their receptor Vδ chain, with Vγ9Vδ2 T cells being the predominant population in human peripheral blood. Vγ9Vδ2 T cells are endowed with specific reactivity to small phosphorylated metabolite antigens (termed phosphoantigens) that are expressed by tumor cells at higher levels and respond to signals from tumors leading to tumor-infiltration, interferon-γ secretion and tumor cell killing in addition to acting as antigen-presenting cells, priming the adaptive immune system.

About Lava Therapeutics B.V.
Lava Therapeutics’ proprietary platform is focused on developing next generation γδ T cell engaging bispecific antibodies to treat cancer. Our first-in-class immuno-oncology approach activates Vγ9Vδ2 T cells upon binding to membrane-expressed tumor targets. Lava’s vision is to develop therapeutics for the curative treatment of cancer. Founded in 2016, Lava Therapeutics is advancing cutting-edge research originating from the group of Dr. Hans van der Vliet at the VU University Medical Center and Cancer Center Amsterdam. www.lavatherapeutics.com

About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized European healthcare investor managing EUR 1 billion across two business lines: a venture & growth capital fund and a lower mid-market buy-out fund. Gilde Healthcare’s venture & growth capital fund invests in therapeutics, medtech and digital health. The portfolio companies are based in Europe and North America. Gilde Healthcare’s lower mid-market buy-out fund invests in profitable European healthcare services companies with a focus on the Benelux and DACH region. The portfolio consists of healthcare providers, suppliers of medical products and other service providers in the healthcare market. The venture & growth fund is currently investing out of Gilde Healthcare IV which is financed, in part, by the European Recovery Program-European Investment Fund Facility. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gildehealthcare.com.

About Versant Ventures
Versant Ventures is a leading global healthcare investment firm committed to helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next generation of great healthcare companies. The firm invests across the healthcare sector and at all stages of company development, with an emphasis on the discovery and development of novel therapeutics. With USD 2.3 billion under management and offices in North America and Europe, Versant has built a team with deep investment, operating, and scientific expertise that enables a hands-on approach to company building. Since the firm’s founding in 1999, more than 65 Versant companies have achieved successful acquisitions or IPOs. For more information, please visit: www.versantventures.com

About MRL Ventures Fund
MRL Ventures Fund (MRLV) is the therapeutics-focused early-stage corporate venture fund of MSD. MSD is a trade name of Merck & Co., Inc., with headquarters in Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A.
From its headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, MRLV invests globally in innovative science and transformational therapeutics. MRLV has a team of experienced life-sciences venture capital professionals committed to supporting great entrepreneurs in their quest to create value through building companies that have a meaningful impact on health and disease. For more information, please visit: www.mrlv.com

Contact:
Lava Therapeutics
Erik Ensing
Phone: +31 8 506 573 44 or +31 6 576 30 942
Email: info@lavatherapeutics.com

Trophic Communications
Gretchen Schweitzer or Joanne Tudorica
Phone: +49 (0) 89 2388 7735 or +49 176 2103 7191
Email: schweitzer@trophic.eu or tudorica@trophic.eu