Indaptus Therapeutics Appoints Industry Veteran Roger Waltzman, M.D. Chief Medical Officer

NEW YORK, Aug. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indaptus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INDP), a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing transformative therapeutics for patients, announces the appointment of Roger Waltzman, M.D. as its Chief Medical Officer, effective August 7, 2023.

Jeffrey Meckler, Indaptus’ CEO commented, “Roger’s deep experience in drug development, particularly in the field of immuno-oncology, and his time as an officer at development and clinical-stage companies makes him an ideal candidate to assume the position of chief medical officer at Indaptus. We look forward to the rapid impact he will make on our development programs, as well as his invaluable contributions to the ongoing advancement of our Decoy platform as it continues in Phase 1 trials.”

Dr. Waltzman joins Indaptus from Molecular Templates, a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on discovery and development of immunotoxins. Prior, he served in the c-suite as Chief Medical Officer at Rgenix, Inc. (now Inspirna, Inc) and as Chief Scientific Officer at Jaguar Health. He spent nine years at Novartis, where he served in several leadership positions, including Global Program Head for Tropical Medicines and Clinical Program Head for several key brands, such as Glivec, Tasigna, and Jakavi.Dr. Waltzman spent the early part of his career as a medical oncologist, serving in two of New York City’s premiere hospitals, Mount Sinai Medical System and St. Vincent’s Hospital. He earned his M.D. degree at Brown University, where he also earned a bachelor’s degree in American Literature and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia University Business School.

“Indaptus has taken a unique approach to immuno-oncology, and the preclinical results of its Decoy program have been extremely encouraging. As the Company continues its INDP-D101 trial and beyond, I am enthusiastic about making a significant impact on the development program and working closely with management to advance this innovative platform for the benefit of patients,” added Dr. Waltzman.

About Indaptus Therapeutics

Indaptus Therapeutics has evolved from more than a century of immunotherapy advances. The Company’s novel approach is based on the hypothesis that efficient activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells and pathways and associated anti-tumor and anti-viral immune responses will require a multi-targeted package of immune system-activating signals that can be administered safely intravenously (i.v.). Indaptus’ patented technology is composed of single strains of attenuated and killed, non-pathogenic, Gram-negative bacteria producing a multiple Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonist Decoy platform. The products are designed to have reduced i.v. toxicity, but largely uncompromised ability to prime or activate many of the cells and pathways of innate and adaptive immunity. Decoy products represent an antigen-agnostic technology that have produced single-agent activity against metastatic pancreatic and orthotopic colorectal carcinomas, single agent eradication of established antigen-expressing breast carcinoma, as well as combination-mediated eradication of established hepatocellular carcinomas and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas in standard pre-clinical models, including syngeneic mouse tumors and human tumor xenografts. In pre-clinical studies, tumor eradication was observed with Decoy products in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint therapy, low-dose chemotherapy, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or an approved, targeted antibody. Combination-based tumor eradication in pre-clinical models produced innate and adaptive immunological memory, involved activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells, and was associated with induction of innate and adaptive immune pathways in tumors after only one i.v. dose of Decoy product, with associated “cold” to “hot” tumor inflammation signature transition. IND-enabling, nonclinical toxicology studies demonstrated safe i.v. administration without sustained induction of hallmark biomarkers of cytokine release syndrome, possibly due to passive targeting to liver, spleen, and tumor, followed by rapid elimination of the product. Indaptus’ Decoy products have also produced significant single agent activity against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in pre-clinical models.