Led by Professor Lawrence Steinman and Dr Jonathan Rothbard, who have been working on this project for more than a decade already, 180 Life Sciences is developing a treatment for ulcerative colitis in ex-smokers.
This is a nicotinic receptor, and a central factor in the body’s method of controlling inflammation.
Rothbard JB, Rothbard JJ, Soares L, Fathman CG, and Steinman L. (2018)
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115:7081-7086.
Lawrence Steinman and Jonathan Rothbard in the Steinman Laboratory of Stanford University
Nicotine binds α7 and is a known immune suppressive. A subgroup of patients who cease smoking go on to acquire ulcerative colitis.
180 Life Sciences believes that α7 treatment provides a solution: without the addictive qualities of smoking, an α7-based drug will reduce ulcerative colitis in ex-smokers.
α7nAChR holds advantages over existing treatments:
α7nAChR drugs were touted by Big Pharma as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. However, despite success in the safety clinical trials, it completely failed to treat the disease.
180 Life Sciences is repurposing these drugs, and will therefore be able to start clinical trials in phase 2 – saving considerably on costs.
© 2020 | 180 Life Sciences
Chief Financial Officer
Ozan is a venture capitalist with a hands-on approach, involved with several companies as CFO and a board member
He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the 180 Life Sciences team as a former investment banker with in-depth capital markets expertise
Throughout his career, Ozan has specialized in helping companies in defining their corporate strategy, and execute corporate transactions such as M&As and IPOs
Ozan played a key role in the formation of 180 Life Sciences, overseeing the merger of 180 Therapeutics, Katexco and Cannbiorex
He is also the CFO of Enosi Life Sciences, and the CFO and a board member of Unify Pharmaceuticals, both pre-clinical companies focused on autoimmune diseases
Ozan was previously VP of Investment Banking at a leading Canadian independent investment bank, where he co-founded the origination department which focused on small and mid-cap financing and advisory mandates
In this role he advised private and public companies on M&A deals and was the lead banker on more than 30 financings, raising approximately $400 million
Ozan holds an Economics and Finance degree from McGill University and is a CFA Charterholder
Chief Operating Officer
Lawrence Pemble has comprehensive experience in developing biotechnology businesses; he has led projects from the earliest phases through to financing and clinical development
Lawrence has led financing rounds, M&A activities, IPOs and has held executive roles, up to and including CEO, for start-up and private equity backed ventures, both in private and public capacities
Lawrence has a sharp understanding and interest in the regulatory and scientific processes and procedures involved in effectively and efficiently moving young biotechnology companies from their roots to the clinical phases
Lawrence served for over six years in the Royal Marines, leading front-line operations around the globe
He has an MBA from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School
Chief Medical Officer
Professor Nanchahal is a surgeon scientist at the University of Oxford, focused on defining the molecular mechanisms of common diseases such as fibrosis and translating his findings through to early phase clinical trials
His surgical background has allowed him to bring a unique insight to common, yet relatively neglected diseases
Many of his findings stem from investigations in primary human tissues, rather than relying on animal models that often fail to recreate human clinical conditions
He has pioneered the treatment of fibrosis of the hand (Dupuytren’s disease), which unlike fibrosis in major human tissues can be diagnosed early and samples easily obtained to discover new pathways of importance
In 2013 his group identified TNF⍺ as a target for Dupuytren’s disease, leading to a phase 2a clinical trial to determine the effective dose and preparation of anti-TNF
He is now leading the Phase 2b/3 trial funded by the Wellcome Trust and UK Department of Health
Professor Nanchahal is a member of the Royal College of Plastic Surgeons
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr Jonathan Rothbard works in the neurology department at Stanford University
Dr Rothbard headed the Molecular Immunology Laboratory at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London in 1990, where he first worked with Professor Sir Marc Feldmann
He has collaborated with Professor Lawrence Steinman since 1986, when they published the first of their 26 manuscripts together
Dr Rothbard has been involved at a high level with start-up pharmaceuticals discovery; in 1987 he founded Amylin in San Diego and has also founded start-ups CellGate and ImmuLogic
Amylin was focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs treating diseases including diabetes and obesity
The company was sold in 2012 to Bristol-Myers Squibb for $5.4 billion
In addition to neurology, Dr Rothbard has also worked in the departments of chemistry and rheumatology at Stanford University
Dr Rothbard holds a BA from Hamilton College and a PhD from Columbia University, which he followed with a fellowship at The Rockefeller University
Co-Chairman
Professor Lawrence Steinman is currently is the George A. Zimmermann Endowed Chair in the Neurology Department at Stanford University
His specialities lie in autoimmune diseases, particularly multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica
In the Steinman Laboratory of Stanford, which is his foundation, he has developed new therapies for autoimmune diseases, some of which are in advanced clinical trials
Professor Steinman has overseen success in the pharmaceuticals industry; he was on the board of Centocor, sold to Johnson and Johnson in 1998 for $4.9 billion, and was a founder of Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) which went public in 1997
Professor Steinman was instrumental in discovering the application of natalizumab (Tysabri) in treating multiple sclerosis. The drug was sold to Royalty Pharma in 2017 for $2.85 billion
Recognition for his work includes the Friedrich Sasse Award in 1994, the John Dystel Prize in 2004, the Charcot Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Multiple Sclerosis Research in 2011, and the Anthony Cerami Award in Translational Medicine in 2015
He has twice been awarded the Senator Jacob Javits Award by the US Congress, in 1988 and 2002
Professor Steinman is a member of both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences
Co-Chairman
Professor Sir Marc Feldmann, AC FAA FRS FRCP FRCPath FMedSci is a pre-eminent immunologist, and professor at the University of Oxford
At the Kennedy Institute at the University of Oxford in the 1980s, he began to identify TNF as a target in the treatment of arthritis
Feldmann and his research partner, Prof Sir Ravinder Maini, led clinical trials of Infliximab (ultimately branded as Remicade), which Centocor had generated
Their work was lauded, leading to awards including the Canada Gairdner award, the Albert Lasker award for medical research, and the Craaford prize of the Royal Swedish Academy, among many others
Remicade was the main driver of the $4.9 billion USD acquisition of Centocor by Johnson and Johnson in 1998
Since its approval Remicade has sold over $50 billion USD worldwide, and remains J&J’s biggest selling drug; anti-TNFs are currently the world’s biggest drug class, with global sales of $36 B USD in 2016
Sir Marc Feldmann is a fellow of the Royal Society and a Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Sciences
Chief Executive Officer
Jim Woody has more than 25 years of pharmaceutical research and management expertise
He currently serves as Chairman of Oncomed Pharmaceuticals, where he was previously a founder and CEO; he is also a General Partner at Latterell Venture Partners, a venture capital group focusing on early-stage healthcare companies
He has served in a variety of health and management roles including as President of Roche Bioscience, and CSO and Senior Vice President of R&D for Centocor.
At Centocor, Jim was part of the team that discovered Remicade, used to treat arthritis and which is now one of the best-selling drugs in the world.
He served as Commanding Officer and Director at the US Naval Medical Research and Development Command in Bethesda, Maryland
In this role he was responsible for the surveillance, detection and therapy for all biologic warfare agents and infectious diseases in the First Gulf War; he was awarded the US Navy Legion of Merit for his service
He holds an MD from Loma Linda University, and trained in pediatric immunology at Duke University and Boston Children’s Hospital (Harvard)
He further holds a PhD in Immunology from the University of London, and has co-authored more than 140 publications
