CytoDyn Names Dr. Jonah Sacha as its Senior Scienc
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VANCOUVER, Washington, July 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytoDyn Inc. (OTC.QB: CYDY), (“CytoDyn” or the “Company”), a late stage biotechnology company developing leronlimab (PRO 140), a CCR5 antagonist with the potential for multiple therapeutic indications today announced the appointment of Dr. Jonah Sacha, Ph.D. as Senior Science Advisor to the Company. Dr. Sacha will lead the development of leronlimab (PRO 140) as a potential therapeutic for HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV cure. Dr. Sacha is an expert in HIV/AIDS research who serves on the National Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council and leads a research laboratory in the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute and Oregon National Primate Research Center at the Oregon Health & Science University. The Sacha laboratory aims to identify novel therapeutic approaches for use in prophylactic HIV vaccines and HIV-remission inducing treatments.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Sacha to CytoDyn as our new Senior Science Advisor,” stated CytoDyn President and CEO, Nader Pourhassan, Ph.D. “Our current KOLs have done a spectacular job getting leronlimab to our BLA submission for combination therapy and hopefully having a pivotal trial for the second monotherapy in the world for HIV. Dr. Sacha’s studies have led CytoDyn to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Thai Red Cross, one of the largest institutes in the world for HIV PrEP clinical trials. Dr. Sacha’s expertise and wealth of knowledge coupled with his NIH-funded ongoing experiments with leronlimab are an excellent fit for us to now explore PrEP and cure potentials of leronlimab,” continued Dr. Pourhassan.
“I am grateful to the CytoDyn team for the opportunity to work with a potential new medicine for HIV patients that has significant potential use as a prophylactic for people at risk of acquiring HIV,” stated Dr. Sacha. “As an HIV researcher intensely focused on developing approaches to slow and ultimately end the HIV epidemic, the opportunity to help bring leronlimab to potential FDA approval is truly unique. I am pleased to oversee the potential of leronlimab for HIV PrEP and cure, which I believe could be game changing for the treatment of HIV for millions of patients around the world.”
Dr. Sacha graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in German. After receiving his Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he joined the Oregon Health & Science University in 2011 and is currently a Professor at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute.