FORT COLLINS, Colo.,
Aug. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Cytocom, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI), a leading biopharmaceutical
company creating next-generation immune therapies that focus on
immune restoration and homeostasis, today announced a collaboration
agreement to fund research and laboratory facilities at the La
Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), a not-for-profit academic
institution and a world leader in immunology research. The
agreement is directed to research that will support the development
of potential new immune-modulating agents targeting toll-like
receptors for the treatment of cancer, infectious, autoimmune and
chronic inflammatory diseases. The research will harness Cytocom's
proprietary drug discovery and development platform technology.
"An alliance with an academic institution the caliber of the La
Jolla Institute marks a major achievement for Cytocom and our
mission to advance best-of-class immune-modulating therapies that
restore immune homeostasis," stated Michael
K. Handley, President and CEO of Cytocom. "With the
completion of the merger between Cleveland BioLabs and Cytocom, we
have built a robust pipeline of immune-modulating treatments
targeting neutropenia and anemia, emergent viruses, cancer, and
autoimmune diseases. Working with the La Jolla Institute, we will
deeply explore the mechanisms that we believe will drive
next-generation therapeutic development with our AIMS™ technology
and bring hope to patients and their families battling serious
medical conditions."
Under the terms of the research agreement, the La Jolla
Institute may select up to four laboratories to participate in
research. Cytocom will provide research funding to these
laboratories for projects of mutual interest or for research
projects commissioned by Cytocom that explore immune modulation and
the action of therapeutics on target toll-like receptors. Toll-like
receptors are central to an immune response, connecting innate and
adaptive immune compartments, and thus key to fighting disease as
well as restoring immune homeostasis. In addition to the research
funding for the selected projects, Cytocom will pay to the La Jolla
Institute $350,000 per year for each
selected laboratory, for a total annual discretionary funding
contribution of up to $1.4 million,
in addition to the research funding itself. Cytocom will also
provide researchers at the La Jolla Institute with samples and
materials. In return, Cytocom will have a first option to negotiate
a license to new discoveries by the La Jolla Institute that arise
from the research projects of common interest funded by Cytocom,
however Cytocom will own any new discoveries that arise from
research projects of interest to Cytocom that have been
commissioned to the La Jolla Institute as "work for hire."
"We are excited to work with Cytocom to interrogate the
mechanisms of immune modulation and human immunity modulated
through toll-like receptors," stated La Jolla Institute President
and Chief Scientific Officer Mitchell
Kronenberg, Ph.D. "Collaborations between academic research
organizations and the biopharmaceutical industry play a key role in
advancing science and informing drug development to the benefit
everyone involved, from discovery-oriented scientists to
therapeutic-oriented companies. Such collaborations are an
important element of our history and our mission looking to the
future. Most importantly, the combined efforts provide hope to the
millions of people worldwide who deserve immunotherapies that
deliver a healthy life without disease."
About the La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Founded in
1988, La Jolla Institute for Immunology is a nonprofit, independent
biomedical research institute focused on improving human health
through increased understanding of the immune system. Its
scientists carry out research seeking new knowledge leading to the
prevention of disease through vaccines and the treatment and cure
of infectious diseases, cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune
diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 (juvenile) diabetes,
Crohn's disease and asthma. To learn more about the Institute's
work, visit www.lji.org.
About Cytocom
Cytocom, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
developing novel immunotherapies targeting autoimmune,
neutropenia/anemia, emerging viruses and cancers based on a
proprietary platform designed to rebalance the body's immune system
and restore homeostasis. The company also has one of the largest
platforms of toll-like immune receptors (TLR4, TLR5 and TLR9) in
the biopharmaceutical industry, addressing conditions such as
radiation sickness and cancer treatment side effects. Cytocom is
developing therapies designed to elicit directly within patients a
robust and durable response of antigen-specific killer T-cells and
antibodies, thereby activating essential immune defenses against
autoimmune, inflammatory, infectious diseases, and cancers.
Specifically, Cytocom has several clinical-stage development
programs for Crohn's disease, hematology, pancreatic cancer, and
COVID-19 in addition to expansion to fibromyalgia and multiple
sclerosis. To learn more about Cytocom, Inc., please visit
www.cytocom.com.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than
statements of current or historical fact contained in this press
release, including statements regarding the expected clinical
development timeline for our product candidates, our future
financial position, business strategy, new products, budgets,
liquidity, cash flows, projected costs, regulatory approvals, the
impact of any laws or regulations applicable to the company, and
plans and objections of management for future operations, are
forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe,"
"continue," "should," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may,"
"plan," "project," "will," and similar expressions, as they relate
to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have
based these forward-looking statements on the current expectations
about future events held by management. While we believe these
expectations are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are
inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are
beyond our control. The company's actual future results may differ
materially from those discussed here for various reasons. The
company discusses many of these risks under the heading "Risk
Factors" in the proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC on
June 10, 2021, as updated by the
company's other filings with the SEC. Factors that may cause such
differences include, but are not limited to, the outcome of any
legal proceedings that have been or may be instituted against the
company related to the merger between legacy Cytocom and Cleveland
BioLabs; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the
merger; our need for additional financing to meet our business
objectives; our history of operating losses; our ability to
successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and
commercialize our products in a timely manner; our plans to
research, develop and commercialize our product candidates; our
ability to attract collaborators with development, regulatory and
commercialization expertise; our plans and expectations with
respect to future clinical trials and commercial scale-up
activities; our reliance on third-party manufacturers of our
product candidates; the size and growth potential of the markets
for our product candidates, and our ability to serve those markets;
the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates;
regulatory requirements and developments in the United States, the European Union and
foreign countries; the performance of our third-party suppliers and
manufacturers; the success of competing therapies that are or may
become available; our ability to attract and retain key scientific
or management personnel; our historical reliance on government
funding for a significant portion of our operating costs and
expenses; government contracting processes and requirements; the
exercise of significant influence over our company by our largest
individual stockholder; the impact of the novel coronavirus
("COVID-19") pandemic on our business, operations and clinical
development; the geopolitical relationship between
the United States and the
Russian Federation as well as
general business, legal, financial and other conditions within the
Russian Federation; our ability to
obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our
product candidates; our potential vulnerability to cybersecurity
breaches; and other factors discussed in our SEC filings, including
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and the risk factors discussed
under the heading "Risk Factors" in the proxy statement/prospectus
the company filed in connection with the merger on June 10, 2021.
Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements included in this press release are made only as of the
date hereof. We do not undertake any obligation to update any such
statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to
any of such statements to reflect future events or
developments.
Contacts:
Cytocom, Inc.
Nichol
Ochsner
Senior V.P. Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(732) 754-2545
nichol.ochsner@cytocom.com
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
Maureen McEnroe, CFA (Investors)
(212) 375-2664
mmcenroe@tiberend.com
Johanna Bennett (Media)
(212) 375-2686
jbennett@tiberend.com
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SOURCE Cytocom, Inc.