The Scancell Appoints Dr Nermeen Varawalla as Chief Medical
Officer released today at 07:00hrs
under RNS no: 2949Y was released in error and should be
disregarded. The full correct version of the announcement
appears below.
30 July 2024
Scancell Holdings
plc
("Scancell" or the "Company")
Scancell Appoints Dr Nermeen
Varawalla as Chief Medical Officer
Dr Varawalla joins with over
25 years of experience across global large pharma, healthcare
business consultancy and clinical trial services
Appointment enhances
Scancell's capabilities for the registration of the adaptive
randomised controlled Phase 2/3 SCOPE-2 trial following clinical
results from SCIB1 and iSCIB1+ cohorts
Scancell Holdings plc (AIM: SCLP),
the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer,
today announces the appointment of Dr Nermeen Varawalla as Chief
Medical Officer (CMO), effective immediately.
Dr Varawalla has over 25 years of
healthcare industry experience in senior leadership positions at
global large pharma, healthcare business consultancy and clinical
trial services. She brings deep expertise in clinical trial
planning and medical affairs, with a strong track record in the
execution of global drug development programmes, including numerous
registration studies in oncology.
Dr Varawalla has experience of
building cross-functional, high-performing teams in both Europe and
the USA and progressing clinical assets through to regulatory and
commercial success in a number of companies, including Atlantic
Healthcare plc, BTG Ltd and, most recently, Relief Therapeutics
(SIX:RLF). While at Atlantic Healthcare, Dr Varawalla collaborated
across high-performing teams to design FDA registration clinical
development programmes and lead non-dilutive fundraising
efforts.
As Senior Vice President, Head of
Clinical Development & Biometrics at BTG, an international
specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company acquired by
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) in 2019 for $4.2 billion,
Dr Varawalla was instrumental in driving transformational change to
clinical development and was responsible for the design
and execution of phase 3 clinical registration trials in hepatic
and colorectal cancer for a radioembolisation therapy which was
also developed as a combination therapy with checkpoint
inhibitors.
Dr Varawalla earned her MD from the
University of Mumbai, followed by a PhD from the University of
Oxford, UK, where she was a Rhodes Research Fellow. She also holds
an MBA from the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires
(INSEAD), France.
Prof Lindy Durrant, Chief Executive Officer, Scancell,
commented: "I am delighted to
welcome Nermeen to head the very successful clinical team at
Scancell. Her wealth of global sector experience and successful
execution of commercial strategies across multiple therapeutic
areas but importantly in oncology, will be invaluable as we plan
ahead for the Phase 2/3 registration study following completion of
the SCOPE study. The SCOPE study has already delivered excellent
results and Nermeen's expertise and input will build on our current
capabilities in order to plan and deliver successful future
registrational studies."
Dr
Nermeen Varawalla, newly appointed Chief Medical Officer, Scancell,
added: "I am thrilled to be joining
Scancell at a pivotal phase in the Company's development, as it
nears significant clinical milestones and inflection points. I look
forward to working with the management team and fellow advisors to
advance Scancell's novel 'off the shelf' therapeutic cancer
vaccines for advanced cancers through the ongoing SCOPE study, the
ModiFY trial and other future clinical trials, with the goal of
bringing these innovative treatments to patients as soon as
possible."
-ENDS-
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For
further information, please contact:
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Scancell Holdings plc
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+44 (0) 20 3709 5700
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Professor Lindy Durrant,
CEO
Dr Jean-Michel Cosséry,
Non-Executive Chairman
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Panmure Liberum Limited (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)
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+44 (0) 20 7886 2500
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Emma Earl, Freddy Crossley, Will
Goode, Mark Rogers (Corporate Finance)
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Rupert Dearden (Corporate
Broking)
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WG
Partners LLP (Joint Broker)
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+44 (0) 20 3705 9330
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David Wilson/Claes Spang/Satheesh
Nadarajah/Erland Sternby
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ICR
Consilium
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Mary-Jane Elliott/ Angela Gray/
Lindsey Neville
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+44 (0) 20 37095700
scancell@consiliumcomms.com
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About Scancell
Scancell is a clinical stage
biopharmaceutical company that is leveraging its proprietary
research, built up over many years of studying the human adaptive
immune system, to generate novel medicines to treat significant
unmet needs in cancer. The Company is building a pipeline of
innovative products by utilising its four technology platforms:
Moditope® and ImmunoBody® for vaccines and GlyMab® and AvidiMab®
for antibodies.
Adaptive immune responses include
antibodies and T cells (CD4 and CD8), both of which can recognise
damaged or infected cells. In order to destroy such cancerous or
infected cells, Scancell uses either vaccines to induce immune
responses or monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to redirect immune cells
or drugs. The Company's unique approach is that its innovative
products target modifications of proteins and lipids. For the
vaccines (Moditope® and ImmunoBody® ) this includes citrullination
and homocitrullination of proteins, whereas its mAb portfolio
targets glycans or sugars that are added onto proteins and / or
lipids (GlyMab® ) or enhances the potency of antibodies and their
ability to directly kill tumour cells (AvidiMab® ).
For further information about
Scancell, please visit: https://www.scancell.co.uk/