Cartography Biosciences Expands Scientific Advisory Board with Leading Antibody and Bi-specific Experts

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cartography Biosciences, an immuno-oncology company creating biologic therapies against novel targets guided by the first-ever comprehensive antigen atlas, today announced the appointments of Tara Arvedson, Ph.D., and Janine Schuurman, Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board. With decades of expertise across antibody biology and immuno-oncology drug discovery, Dr. Arvedson and Dr. Schuurman are poised to play a critical role in the ongoing advancement of Cartography’s novel and potentially best-in-class cancer immunotherapies.

“We’re thrilled to see Cartography’s unique antigen-based approach to target identification backed by two of the industry’s leading drug discovery experts,” said Kevin Parker, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Cartography Biosciences. “With their world-class knowledge in antibody-based drug discovery and a wealth of experience translating research programs to drug products, Dr. Arvedson’s and Dr. Schuurman’s support will be a key asset as we develop therapeutics against our novel targets.”

Tara Arvedson, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer at Hexagon Bio, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery of medicines encoded in the global metagenome. Prior to leading the company’s drug discovery efforts as CSO, Dr. Arvedson served as Senior Vice President of Research at Hexagon. She previously served as an Executive Director of Oncology Research at Amgen where she led small molecule and large molecule programs in oncology, immuno-oncology, inflammation and hematology. During Dr. Arvedson’s 15-year tenure at Amgen, she initiated the company’s KRAS G12C-targeting effort which resulted in the first approved KRAS targeting molecule, LUMAKRAS™ (sotorasib), and drove Amgen’s bispecific T-cell engager platform, which resulted in several clinical candidates. Dr. Arvedson received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology and was a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Diego.

“Cartography’s proprietary platform and target identification algorithms allow them to nominate and select the antigen targets that show the greatest potential to deliver an impactful therapeutic benefit to patients,” said Dr. Arvedson. “I look forward to collaborating with Cartography’s visionary team and supporting them in the advancement of precise, effective immunotherapies.”

Janine Schuurman, Ph.D., is an expert in antibody biology and translational research with a demonstrated history of working in drug discovery and development. Dr. Schuurman is a thought leader and an active Board Member of The Antibody Society, an international, non-profit trade association representing individuals and organizations involved in antibody-related research and development. Dr. Schuurman was one of the first scientists joining Genmab’s R&D team, and for over 22 years worked to develop innovative antibody therapeutics at Genmab, with her most recent position being Genmab’s Senior Vice President heading Antibody Research and Technologies. Dr. Schuurman is a co-inventor of the DuoBody®, HexaBody® and HexElect® technologies that enable the generation of bispecific and effector-function enhanced antibodies. These technologies are being applied to antibody therapeutics discovery programs at leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide and have resulted in FDA approved therapies such as RYBREVANT® (amivantamab-vmjw) and EPKINLY™ (epcoritamab-bysp). Dr. Schuurman received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Amsterdam.

“A great deal of untapped potential exists in the field of cancer immunotherapy due to the limited number of known druggable cancer targets. Cartography is expanding what’s possible in immuno-oncology with its novel antigen profiling approach,” said Dr. Schuurman. “I’m honored to join Cartography in the pursuit of precise cancer treatments and I’m confident that together, we can unlock the full potential of immunotherapy.”

About Cartography Biosciences

Cartography Biosciences is focused on developing tumor-selective therapeutics that are based on a unique genomics and computational platform. Cartography’s platform integrates data from proprietary sample sourcing relationships, an industry-leading comprehensive reference atlas, and our target identification algorithms to identify the cells of interest and the single or pairs of targets that are most specific to the intended target cells. Cartography is unlocking the full potential of immunotherapy by discovering and developing therapeutics as precise as their targets. To learn more about Cartography and our mission to treat every patient with cancer, visit cartography.bio and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @cartographybio.

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