Speaker Profile
Ph.D., CEO, Minerva Biotechnologies
Biography
Dr. Bamdad and the Minerva Biotechnologies team are developing CAR T cell therapies for solid tumor cancers. A first-in-human trial is expected to begin in Q1 2019 with colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for metastatic breast cancers that express a MUC1 cleavage product called MUC1* (pronounced muk 1 star). Minerva’s novel cancer immunotherapy targets emerged from focusing on the basic biology of the intersecting space between cancers and naïve stem cells. Dr. Bamdad holds a B.S. in Physics from Northeastern University and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard University, where she invented an electronic DNA chip that sold to Motorola for $300M in 2000, now marketed by GenMark. Dr. Bamdad served on the Board of Directors of Pharmacyclics during their turn-around from near bankruptcy to $1B deal with J&J for 50% of the drug that would become Imbruvica, followed a few years later by $21B Abbvie acquisition.
Immunotherapy Showcase: Minerva Biotechnologies
Minerva Biotechnologies is a private company developing cancer immunotherapies that disable cancer-specific and patient specific forms of MUC1*.
Novel CAR-T Targets MUC1* For Solid Tumors
Novel CAR T targets a MUC1 cleavage product for the treatment of metastatic breast cancers is scheduled to begin Q1 2019 with colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Details of cleavage make therapeutic cancer specific and patient specific.
