DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Xilis, Inc., a pioneering company developing its MicroOrganoSphere™ (MOS™) technology to guide precision therapy for cancer patients and accelerate drug discovery and development, announced today that breast cancer oncologist Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FACP, FASCO, has joined the company’s Clinical Advisory Board (CAB).

Dr. Hayes is a Professor of Internal Medicine, the Stuart B. Padnos Professor in Breast Cancer, and the Clinical Director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. He served as the past President of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) from 2015 to 2018 and is a world-recognized thought leader in the field of breast cancer.

Dr. Hayes will become the fifth member of the Xilis CAB, joining leading gastrointestinal (GI) oncologists Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, FACP, MD Anderson and Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, Mayo Clinic, along with Xilis’ lung and early clinical phase oncologists and investigators Gilberto de Lima Lopes, Jr., MD, MBA, FAMS, University of Miami and Scott Antonia, MD, PhD, Duke University. These leading oncologists are providing guidance to introduce Xilis’ MOS technology to the clinic.

“The addition of Dan Hayes to our CAB highlights the excitement of building our MOS technology across important tumor types. To have five of the world’s leading oncologists recognize the potential of our MOS technology to revolutionize the way we approach cancer therapy is gratifying,” said David Hsu, MD, co-founder of Xilis. “The chance to improve patients’ treatments is what motivates each of the clinicians on our board, which aligns with the passion of every employee at Xilis. Dan’s impact on the field of oncology cannot be overstated.”

Dr. Hayes joins an accomplished CAB with expertise in colon, breast, and lung cancers, as well as immuno-therapies.

Other Xilis Clinical Advisory Board Members

Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, FACP: Dr. Kopetz is a Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a physician-scientist who enjoys the intellectual challenges of the lab, the emotional engagement of the clinic and has the motivation to bridge the two.

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD: Dr. Bekaii-Saab is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Leader of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Medical Director of the Cancer Clinical Research Office, Vice Chair and Section Chief for Medical Oncology for the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He is the consortium chair for the Academic and Community Cancer Research United (ACCRU) network. He is also one of the leading clinician-scientists in the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-supported cooperative research group. Dr. Bekaii-Saab conducts clinical and translational research focused on developing anti-cancer agents for patients with GI cancers. Dr. Bekaii-Saab collaborates extensively with various scientists and industry partners to design and execute innovative clinical trials, including many first-in-human studies.

Gilberto de Lima Lopes, Jr., MD, MBA, FAMS: Dr. de Lima Lopes is Interim Chief of the division of medical oncology and Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Miami and works on developing new drugs and methods to treat cancer through designing, leading and participating in Phase I through IV clinical trials. He has helped bring several novel cancer therapies into the clinic. He is also a leader in the area known as Global Oncology and is the Editor-in-Chief for ASCO’s journal JCO Global Oncology.

Scott Antonia, MD, PhD: Dr. Antonia is recognized as a global leader in the development of immunotherapy for lung cancer. While at Moffitt Cancer Center, he helped develop immunotherapies to fight lung cancer, including one that in June 2019 changed the standard of care for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer. Dr. Antonia now serves as director of the Duke Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, a DCI Strategic Plan priority that aims to enhance the institute’s ability to develop and test novel immunotherapeutic approaches.

About Xilis

Based in Durham, North Carolina, Xilis, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing a precision oncology platform that guides treatment decisions for oncologists to improve cancer care outcomes for patients and supports drug discovery and development for pharmaceutical companies. Xilis’ proprietary MicroOrganoSphere™ (MOS) technology consists of miniature patient tumors that capture the full microenvironment and heterogeneity and provides an automated and scalable solution. Using MOS and AI-driven algorithms, Xilis is developing a Xilis Response Score™ for the clinic, enabling oncologists to make informed and timely treatment decisions. Additionally, the MOS technology is speeding up development and clinical trials of cancer drugs by enabling analysis of authentic tumor microenvironments, high-throughput preclinical modeling, and clinical patient selection capabilities.

To learn more about Xilis, visit our website at Xilis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220608005241/en/