Plenary Keynote Sessions
Monday, May 12 | 4:25 – 5:10 PM
Ex vivo and in situ Engineered Stroma Targeted CAR T Cells for the Treatment of Solid Tumors and Fibrosis
Ellen Puré, PhD, Chair & Professor, Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
5:10 – 5:55 PM
PEGS 2025 YOUNG SCIENTIST KEYNOTE HONOREE
Presentation to be Announced
Jessica C. Stark, PhD, Underwood-Prescott Career Development Professor, MIT
Wednesday, May 14 | 8:50 – 9:35 AM
The Role of Protein Engineering in Developing New Innovative Modalities
Puja Sapra, PhD, Senior Vice President, Head R&D Biologics, Engineering and Oncology Targeted Discovery, AstraZeneca
Advances in protein engineering technologies have revolutionized biologics design, paving the way for new innovative drug modalities. This talk will highlight key advancements in the field of protein engineering that have enabled these new modalities to enter the clinic and provide benefit to patients. The talk will also explore the impact of machine learning-enabled deep screening technology on hit identification, lead optimization and development of antibody-based therapies.
Thursday, May 15 | 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Plenary Fireside Chat: Riding the Next Biotech Wave—Trends in Biotech Investments, Partnering, and M&As
Moderator:
Jakob Dupont, MD, Executive Partner, Sofinnova Investments
- Emerging Biotherapeutic Modalities, Technologies and Innovations – ADCs, radiopharmaceuticals, GLP-1, AI, machine learning, and other exciting trends to watch
- Introduction to different strategies for investments, M&As, partnering, licensing etc.
- Investing in platforms versus assets
- Advice on funding options for start-ups, early to late stage clinical programs, etc.
Panelists:
Michal Preminger, PhD, MBA, Regional Head, East North America, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC
Shyam Masrani, Principal, Medicxi
Uciane Scarlett, PhD, Principal, MPM Capital
Anthony B. Barry, PhD, Executive Director, ES&I Lead, Biotherapeutics, Technologies, and Digital, Pfizer Inc.
Ellen Puré, PhD, Chair & Professor, Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
Ellen Puré, Ph.D., is the Grace Lansing Lambert Professor, former Chair of Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, and founding Director of the Penn Vet Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Puré received her Baccalaureate degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and her doctorate from the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical School. She trained as a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellow and Leukemia Society Special Fellow and then joined the Faculty at the Rockefeller University. In 1992, Dr. Puré moved to Philadelphia where she was on the Faculty of the Wistar Institute until moving to the University of Pennsylvania in 2013. Dr. Puré is an Associate Director of the Cancer Research Institute and currently serves as a consulting editor of the Journal of Clinical Investigation and is a Founding Senior Editor of Cancer Immunology Research. Dr. Puré’s research focuses on the cellular and molecular basis of fibroinflammation. She studies the basic mechanisms of fibroinflammation in the context of fibrotic diseases and cancer. Her laboratory has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the roles of stromal cells and extracellular matrix remodeling in tissue fibrosis and in cancer risk, initiation, progression, and metastasis. Her lab is developing novel therapeutic approaches to target stroma to treat fibrosis and cancer. In 2019, Dr. Puré was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Puré is a scientific co-founder of Capstan Therapeutics.
Jessica C. Stark, PhD, Underwood-Prescott Career Development Professor, MIT
Jessica Stark is an Assistant Professor in the departments of Biological Engineering and Chemical Engineering at MIT and an intramural member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. The Stark Lab is developing biological technologies to realize the largely untapped potential of glycans for immunological discovery and immunotherapy. As an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi at Stanford University, Jessica’s work focused on identifying and targeting glycans that act as immune checkpoints for next-generation cancer immunotherapy. As an NSF Graduate Research Fellow with Prof. Michael Jewett at Northwestern University, Jessica developed cell-free technologies for protein therapeutic and vaccine production that promise to enable portable and personalized medicine. Previously, she received her B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Cornell University and worked at Genentech, Inc. in process development and research and development roles. Jessica’s independent work has been recognized with a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s Steven A. Rosenberg Scholar Award, and a V Foundation V Scholar Award. The Stark lab is committed to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM through mentoring, outreach, and service activities. To support this work, Jessica co-developed and commercialized BioBits educational kits that promise to increase access to high-quality biology education by facilitating hands-on learning.
Puja Sapra, PhD, Senior Vice President, Head R&D Biologics, Engineering and Oncology Targeted Discovery, AstraZeneca
I serve as Vice President, Tumour Targeted Delivery, Early Oncology. In my current role, I lead the research group dedicated to the discovery and preclinical development of targeted cancer therapeutics and novel delivery mechanisms that selectively attack cancer cells while sparing normal healthy tissues.
Throughout my 20-year career I have worked on a breadth of tumour-targeting strategies and biotherapeutics including immunotherapeutics, CD3-bispecifics, liposomal drug delivery systems, nanoparticles, antisense oligonucleotide delivery and pegylation technologies. In this time, I’ve built industry leading platforms and a diversified pipeline in the tumour-targeted oncology arena. I’ve had notable success identifying and bringing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) to patients – including an ADC for adults and children with acute myeloid leukaemia, as well as an ADC for refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
I am passionate about the promise of targeted therapeutics, and I have given numerous lectures on this topic at national and international meetings. I have authored more than 50 scientific publications, book chapters, and I am a recognized inventor or co-inventor of more than 25 patents in the field. I am a member of several scientific and medical societies including American Association for Cancer Research and also serve as the Deputy Editor of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
I earned a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Alberta on an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research scholarship. My research was in the lab of Theresa M Allen who pioneered the concept of stealth liposomal technology that ultimately resulted in the development of a liposomal form of a well-known chemotherapy used to treat haematological malignancies and solid tumours.
Jakob Dupont, MD, Executive Partner, Sofinnova Investments
Jakob Dupont brings more than two decades of experience in the field of oncology and other therapeutic areas, in developing therapies and programs dedicated to addressing high unmet medical needs. He is currently a member of the board of directors for Avenzo Therapeutics.
Prior to joining Sofinnova, Jakob was previously Global Head of Research & Development (R&D) and Executive Vice President at Atara Biotherapeutics, where he helped lead efforts to secure regulatory approval of the first-in-kind product, Ebvallo® and advancing a multiple sclerosis candidate (ATA188) to a key Phase 2 read out. Prior to Atara, he served as the Chief Medical Officer at Gossamer Bio, overseeing global development, regulatory, and quality activities for the company, and advancing therapeutics in the disease areas of immunology, inflammation, and oncology. Before Gossamer Bio, Jakob served as Vice President and Global Head of Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Development for Genentech/Roche, where he was responsible for the global development of Herceptin®, Perjeta®, Kadcyla®, Tecentriq®, among others, and where he previously led the development of Avastin® for GYN and Breast Cancers when starting his industry career. Jakob was also Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he oversaw the successful submissions of eight investigational new drug applications (INDs) and 26 clinical trial initiations. Through his industry career he has received numerous grants and awards, contributed to 12 regulatory approvals, 13 successful IND filings, co-authored 47 peer-reviewed publications, and has 18 patents.
Jakob received his M.D. from the Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and his M.A. in philosophy from New York University. He also served as Assistant Chief Resident and completed his Medical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), his Internal Medicine Residency at the New-York Presbyterian Hospital — Cornell Campus, and his Internal Medicine Internship at The University of Michigan Medical Center.
Michal Preminger, PhD, MBA, Regional Head, East North America, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC
Michal is Regional Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, East North America. Located at the Innovation Center in Cambridge, she leads the Johnson & Johnson Innovation team to curate and cultivate the most promising, early-stage healthcare innovations in the region, spanning across pharmaceutical, consumer health and medical devices. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Michal served as the Executive Director of Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development (OTD) Harvard Medical School site, where she was responsible for development and commercialization of technologies emerging from research at HMS laboratories and for the strategy and execution of all industry collaborations. She negotiated agreements with major biopharma, life sciences, food and cosmetics companies to advance the translation of discoveries into products and create a revenue-generating product pipeline and worked with scientific founders and investors to create new startup companies. Before joining Harvard University’s OTD in 2005, Michal held several senior business and technology development leadership positions in the biotech and tech industries and co-founded a biotechnology startup. Michal serves on the Board of Directors for MassBio and the Kendall Square Association (KSA). She is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board's FutuRx Accelerator, as well as on the Advisory Board for the Binah Initiative at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Shyam Masrani, Principal, Medicxi
Shyam is a Principal at Medicxi. Prior to joining Medicxi, Shyam founded two early-stage biotechnology companies (Shyden Biotechnology and Cleavr Therapeutics). He led Medicxi's investment in Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) and ProfoundBio and currently serves on the boards of a number of portfolio companies, including T-Cypher Bio, My-T Bio, and CosMyc Therapeutics. Shyam obtained a BSc in Biochemistry and a Masters in Translational Medicine from Imperial College London.
Uciane Scarlett, PhD, Principal, MPM Capital
Uciane Scarlett is a principal and is responsible for investment identification, due diligence, business development, and new company creation activities at MPM Capital. Prior to joining MPM, Uciane was a principal at Oxford Sciences Enterprises (OSE, UK), an Oxford-affiliated firm, where she co-led the life science sector. While at OSE, Uciane led company financings and drove start-up builds for companies including T-Cypher Bio, where she served as Interim Executive Chair, Alethiomics, PepGen, and Endlyz. She represented OSE on the boards of T-Cypher, PepGen, Miro Bio, Scenic Bio, and DJS. Prior to OSE, Uciane was on the investment team at Atlas Venture where she supported financings for Dyne Therapeutics (DYN) and Quench Bio and served in operational roles for AVROBIO (AVRO) and KorroBio. Uciane was the Director of BD & Strategy at Compass Therapeutics prior to Atlas and prior to Compass was a Manager at the life sciences consultancy, Clarion. Uciane holds a PhD in cancer immunology from Dartmouth College. She received her BSc, first-class honors, in biotechnology (major) and zoology (minor) from the University of the West Indies.
Anthony B. Barry, PhD, Executive Director, ES&I Lead, Biotherapeutics, Technologies, and Digital, Pfizer Inc.
Bio coming soon.