Cancer leader Professor Alan Parker joins Accession Therapeutics

Co-inventor of Trocept platform to guide immuno-oncology pipeline growth

Oxford, UK, January 26 2022 – Accession Therapeutics, which is developing novel immune-oncology therapeutics combining high specificity and potency with the ability to counter tumour diversity, is pleased to announce that Alan Parker, Professor of Translational Virotherapies at Cardiff University, has joined the company. Professor Parker is co-inventor of its proprietary Trocept platform, and has been appointed Chief Scientific Officer of its Trocept Therapeutics subsidiary in which the technology is being developed. Based on over a decade of work, the first Trocept product is expected to enter the clinic within the next three years.

Based at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University since 2013, Professor Parker will continue to lead his group there alongside his role at Accession Therapeutics, with the two teams maintaining a close collaborative relationship. At the University he is Head of Solid Cancers and leads the targeted therapeutic programme of the Wales Cancer Research Centre (funded by Health and Care Research Wales). His laboratory is also supported by Cancer Research UK, Cancer Research Wales and Tenovus Cancer Care. Professor Parker received his PhD at the CRUK Institute for Cancer Studies at the University of Birmingham in 2003.

Accession Therapeutics recently closed the first tranche of a long-term funding round with Primavera Venture Partners, Birk Venture and an international syndicate of biotech investors. By engineering viruses specifically directed to cancer cells and carrying a transgene coding for an antitumour or immune activator drug, the company’s Trocept products are expected to be highly specific, broad in action so as to kill all cancer cell variants present in a tumour, and potent in activating the full immune system arsenal.

Alan Parker, PhD, CSO of Trocept Therapeutics, said, ‘As an immuno-oncology drug generation platform Trocept has the potential to transform the treatment of recalcitrant cancers. I’m delighted to join the expert team to help generate a pipeline of novel and effective cancer therapeutics with minimal side effects.’

Bent Jakobsen, PhD FMedSci, CEO of Accession Therapeutics, said, ‘As we work to eradicate cancers by harnessing the immune system more powerfully than ever before, Alan’s extensive knowledge of viral gene delivery in the oncology setting will be invaluable. He is an excellent complement to our existing skills base and we are delighted to welcome him to the company.’

--ENDS—

For more information, please contact

Emma Palmer Foster, Communications

comms@accessiontherapeutics.com

Tel +44 (0) 7880 787185

About Accession Therapeutics

Accession Therapeutics is developing novel immune-oncology therapeutics combining high specificity and potency with the ability to counter tumour diversity. Led by T cell receptor therapy pioneer Bent Jakobsen, PhD FMedSci, the company is leveraging its Trocept platform technology to develop a portfolio of next generation products to the IND/early clinical trial stage. By engineering viruses specifically directed to cancer cells and carrying a transgene coding for an antitumour or immune activator drug, Trocept products are expected to be highly specific, broad in action so as to kill all cancer cell variants present in a tumour, and potent in activating the full immune system arsenal. The effect of the antitumour drug and immune system activation caused by cancer cell lysis after viral infection combine synergistically to give this broad and potent response, as illustrated in the animation here: https://bit.ly/3r8WgPu

Dr Jakobsen is a founder of Adaptimmune and Immunocore which are both now listed on NASDAQ. Accession Therapeutics recently closed the first tranche of a long-term funding round, supported by Primavera Venture Partners, Birk Venture and other international biotech investors. It is establishing its laboratory and office facilities at the Oxford Business Park, UK. www.accessiontherapeutics.com