Lytix Biopharma is honored to welcome Sudhir Agrawal as a new member of its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Agrawal brings with him a wealth of experience in discovering new drug candidates and advancing them through proof of concept into clinical stage. Sudhir Agrawal is one of the founders of Idera Pharmaceuticals, and under his leadership, a pipeline of drug candidates has been developed - including a nucleic acid therapeutic platform and toll-like receptor (TLR) targeted compounds. With a deep understanding of the tumor microenvironment driving immunotherapy outcomes, Dr. Agrawal has led the development of intra-tumoral therapy of IMO-2125, a TLR9 agonist and promising immune-oncology drug candidate currently in phase 3 in combination with check point inhibitors. In May 2017 Dr. Agrawal retired from Idera Pharmaceuticals after 27 years of service in various leadership roles, including Chief Scientific Officer, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman.  

Sudhir Agrawal, D. Phil, FRSC conducted his post-doctoral research at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Medical Research Council, Cambridge, UK, and at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, now merged with The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, USA. He has authored over 300 publications, presented over 200 invited lectures, edited three books, and is co-inventor of over 400 patents worldwide. He is currently serving as a member of the Business Advisory Board of The Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine and has been appointed Visiting Professor, Department of Medicine at The University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Øystein Rekdal, CSO:  We are very grateful that Sudhir is joining our Scientific Advisory Board. Lytix Biopharma is developing oncolytic peptides for intra-tumoral treatment and our clinical stage lead candidate LTX-315 has shown to turn the majority of immunologically cold cancers to ‘hot’ and to induce polyclonal T cell responses in cancer patients. Sudhir’s broad experience in local immune activation and development of TLR modulators will be very valuable in our further development of oncolytic peptides in combination with check point inhibitors.

Edwin Klumper, CEO: Lytix Biopharma is fortunate that an industry expert with the stature and legacy of Sudhir Agrawal teams up to join forces in achieving the full clinical potential of our oncolytic peptide platform.