Copenhagen, Denmark & New York, USA — 19 Dec 2023— HERVOLUTION Therapeutics ApS (‘HERVOLUTION’), a pioneering biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies to treat dark genome targets in cancer, aging, and neurodegeneration, today announces the appointment of J. Robert Coleman, PhD, MBA as its Chief Executive Officer.
Robert Coleman PhD, MBA, has over 12 years’ experience in building successful biotech companies, with a particular focus on driving platform technologies from initial innovation to Phase 3 clinical trials – ultimately enabling the development of multi-asset, multi-disease area pipelines.
Dr Coleman co-founded and was CEO of Codagenix where he secured up to $498M in public and private financing to support early and late-stage development of viral-based vaccines and therapeutics – understanding all aspects of manufacturing, regulatory, and clinical design. His skillset is advancing groundbreaking preclinical discoveries into first-in-human proof of concept trials and beyond; thus, Coleman’s expertise aligns seamlessly with HERVOLUTION’s mission.
The human genomes encode Human Endogenous Retroviral genes (HERVs) that remain as part of the dark genome from retroviral infections of our predecessors. These HERVs are not expressed in healthy cells but become activated in cancer, aging, and neurodegeneration. HERVs have escaped immune targeting as they are normally recognized as “self”. Now, HERVOLUTION has a proprietary approach to immune target HERVs using rationally designed HERV antigens that break tolerance and enable the immune system to kill cells expressing HERVs and blocking HERVs from propagating further disease.
Sven Rohmann, MD, Phd, MBA, Chairman of HERVOLUTION, stated: “We are so delighted to welcome Rob to the HERVOLUTION team. His exceptional leadership, strategic acumen, and deep understanding of the biotech landscape makes him the ideal entrepreneur to launch the Company towards achieving its transformative vision. Rob’s ability to navigate the journey from early-stage innovation to clinical advancement will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in realizing the full potential of HERVOLUTION’s pioneering immunotherapies.”
Robert Coleman, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of HERVOLUTION, commented: “We have the ideal blend for an emerging biotech – innovative, differentiated, and proprietary science combined with a dedicated and motivated team to bring forward a transformative, multi-dimensional immunotherapy platform. HERVOLUTION’s pipeline includes therapies that target HERV expression in prostate, pancreatic, breast and other cancers, as well as in senescent cells and degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I look forward to working with the talented team to unlock the full potential of HERVs, ultimately changing the landscape of cancer and aging therapeutics.”
HERVOLUTION is committed to revolutionizing immunotherapy by targeting HERVs as tumor and senescence-specific antigens, antigens that had until now remained elusive for immunotherapy.
Optimum Strategic Communications
Mary Clark, Hana Malik, Eleanor Cooper
Tel: +44 20 3922 0891
E-mail: hervolution@optimumcomms.com
About HERVOLUTION Therapeutics:
HERVOLUTION Therapeutics (formerly InProTher Aps) is a biotechnology company based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and expanding into the US via Dr. Coleman’s appointment. The vision of HERVOLUTION is to lead the development of novel immunotherapies that target the Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) as tumor and senescence-specific antigens. HERVOLUTION will solve bottlenecks and unleash the full potential of immuno-oncology.
To date, HERVOLUTION has put in place a world-class scientific team and created an emerging product development pipeline, including a leading programme targeted to enter clinic in 2024.
Initial investors in HERVOLUTION include the BioInnovation Institute (Novo Nordisk Foundation), Vaekstfonden (Denmark), the European Innovation Council Fund, and expert Business Angels.
For more information, please visit: Hervolutiontx.com
