Bone Therapeutics appoints industry cell therapy expert, Anthony Ting, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer
Gosselies, Belgium, 30 March 2021, 7am CET – BONE THERAPEUTICS (Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the cell therapy company addressing unmet medical needs in orthopedics and other diseases, today announces the appointment of the stem cell therapy industry veteran, Anthony Ting, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). The appointment is effective from April 1, 2021.
Backed by two decades of expertise in translational clinical development with adult stem cell therapies, Dr. Ting will be responsible for Bone Therapeutics’ research activities. He will also supervise the ongoing development of Bone Therapeutics’ allogeneic, off-the-shelf, differentiated mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) platform, ALLOB. His immediate focus will be the further expansion of Bone Therapeutics’ pipeline, leveraging internal know-how and external collaborations on novel, specialized cell therapy products with enhanced efficacy, using differentiated and modified MSCs.
“Tony has a proven track record of driving translational research across a full range of cell and gene therapy programs. This experience will be invaluable for Bone Therapeutics as it broadens into a global player in specialized cell therapies for a range of targets. Tony and I have worked together for a number of years, and last year he succeeded me as Chief Commercialization Officer on the board of directors for the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy,” said Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Bone Therapeutics. “Tony will play a central role in the ongoing growth of our novel therapeutic product portfolio and the exploration of new cell therapy applications for the treatment of intractable diseases across multiple therapeutic areas. In addition, Tony’s extensive experience with regulatory authority interactions on cell therapies and his dual location in the US and Europe will intensify our discussions with US regulators, investigators and investors, furthering our presence and focus on the US market while we continue to advance our allogeneic cell therapy platform ALLOB through the clinic.”
“The cell and gene therapy field is continuing to grow exponentially and several seminal cell and gene-based treatments have successfully reached the market recently. Bone Therapeutics is ideally positioned to be a major player in this field, with the potential to develop therapies that can make a significant difference to patients suffering from a range of conditions,” said Anthony Ting, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Bone Therapeutics. “ALLOB, Bone Therapeutics’ lead cell therapy asset, is progressing strongly through the clinic, and its technology has considerable potential to expand into wider indications and offer new therapeutic options to patients. I look forward to contributing to ALLOB’s clinical progress and working with Bone Therapeutics’ scientific teams to broaden its promising pipeline.”
Dr. Ting brings to Bone Therapeutics over 30 years of academic and industry experience in translational science and global regulatory filing, and 20 years specifically in stromal cell-based therapeutics. He is currently the Chief Commercialization Officer on the board of directors for the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) and is serving on committees for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI). Most recently, Dr. Ting served in the senior management team of Athersys, a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage cell therapy company. As Vice President of Regenerative Medicine and Head of Cardiopulmonary Programs, he was responsible for all stages of development, from the bench to the bedside for the cardiovascular and pulmonary programs with Athersys’ most advanced cell therapy product MultiStem(R), an allogeneic adult bone marrow-derived stem cell product. Prior to joining Athersys, Dr. Ting was a Principal Investigator and Head of the Novel Inhibitors Screening Group at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) at the National University of Singapore, which identified new therapeutic targets through high-throughput screening. Dr. Ting received his PhD in Cell Biology from Johns Hopkins University and his B.A. in Biology from Amherst College.
About Bone Therapeutics
Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotech company focused on the development of innovative products to address high unmet needs in orthopedics and other diseases. The Company has a, diversified portfolio of cell and biologic therapies at different stages ranging from pre-clinical programs in immunomodulation to mid-to-late stage clinical development for orthopedic conditions, targeting markets with large unmet medical needs and limited innovation.
Bone Therapeutics is developing an off-the-shelf next-generation improved viscosupplement, JTA-004, which is currently in Phase III development for the treatment of pain in knee osteoarthritis. Consisting of a unique combination of plasma proteins, hyaluronic acid - a natural component of knee synovial fluid, and a fast-acting analgesic, JTA-004 intends to provide added lubrication and protection to the cartilage of the arthritic joint and to alleviate osteoarthritic pain and inflammation. Positive Phase IIb efficacy results in patients with knee osteoarthritis showed a statistically significant improvement in pain relief compared to a leading viscosupplement.
Bone Therapeutics’ core technology is based on its cutting-edge allogeneic cell therapy platform with differentiated bone marrow sourced Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) which can be stored at the point of use in the hospital. Currently in pre-clinical development, BT-20, the most recent product candidate from this technology, targets inflammatory conditions, while the leading investigational medicinal product, ALLOB, represents a unique, proprietary approach to bone regeneration, which turns undifferentiated stromal cells from healthy donors into bone-forming cells. These cells are produced via the Bone Therapeutics’ scalable manufacturing process. Following the CTA approval by regulatory authorities in Europe, the Company has initiated patient recruitment for the Phase IIb clinical trial with ALLOB in patients with difficult tibial fractures, using its optimized production process. ALLOB continues to be evaluated for other orthopedic indications including spinal fusion, osteotomy, maxillofacial and dental.
Bone Therapeutics’ cell therapy products are manufactured to the highest GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards and are protected by a broad IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio covering ten patent families as well as knowhow. The Company is based in the BioPark in Gosselies, Belgium. Further information is available at www.bonetherapeutics.com
