Activating Platform ImmunoPhage™
a First-in-Class Target
for Better Treatment Outcomes
Sensei Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel biologics therapies targeting key components of the immune system for the treatment of cancers of unmet need. Driven by innovative science, world class scientists, and an entrepreneurial culture, we are focused on the discovery, development, and delivery of medicines that alter the treatment landscape and contributing value to patients and society.
About Us
We push the boundaries of science to discover and develop innovative medicines for patients
Sensei Biotherapeutics is developing an innovative pipeline of first-in-class immune activating agents for a broad array of cancers including solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Our therapies benefit from a precision medicine approach that has the potential to identify patients that will benefit most from our therapies.
Sensei has developed a unique phage-based platform, ImmunoPhage™, that enables the generation of immune activating agents that fully engage activation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. Our lead program, SNS-301, targets Aspartyl beta Hydroxylase (ASPH), has shown excellent safety and clinical benefit in a Phase 1 trial and is currently in Phase 2 at multiple clinical sites across the USA.
Located in Maryland, we have state-of-the-art laboratories for discovery, development, and manufacturing of therapeutic products, as well as clinical testing.
Our Pipeline
Sensei Biotherapeutics is developing novel immune activating agents that break central tolerance and drive the immune system to recognize and kill cancer. Sensei’s most advanced program is SNS-301, an immune activating agent that targets Aspartyl beta Hydroxylase (ASPH) in Phase 2 studies of Head and Neck Cancer and High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome. ASPH has demonstrated expression in over 20 types of cancer.
SNS-301 is a first-in-class immune activating agent that has successfully completed a Phase 1 clinical study. Intradermal administration of SNS-301 demonstrated a favorable safety profile, improvements in disease biomarkers and triggered a robust, dose-dependent antigen-specific CD8+ T cell and B-cell response. Sensei Bio is currently enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial of SNS-301 in combination with Pembrolizumab in 2nd line Head and Neck Cancer.
Sensei Bio has an active clinical collaboration with AstraZeneca to evaluate the combination of SNS-301 and IMFINZI® in patients with the following cancers:
- Locally-advanced head and neck cancer in the neoadjuvant setting in conjunction with neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgical resection
- ASPH+ patients with various locally-advanced unresectable or metastatic/recurrent solid tumors.
About Head and Neck Cancer
Head and neck cancers include cancers in the larynx, throat, lips, mouth, nose, and salivary glands and accounts for about 4% of all cancers in the US1. Tobacco use, heavy alcohol use, and infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) increase the risk of head and neck cancers1. Although five-year overall survival (OS) is good for patients diagnosed with localized (83.7%) or locoregionally advanced (64.2%) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), the cancer often recurs distantly. Recurrent or de novo metastatic SCCHN is incurable and the five-year survival is 38.5%2. Extending patients’ survival is, therefore, an important treatment goal.
1 Head and Neck Cancers, NCI, 2017
2 Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck, Decision Resources Disease Landscape and Forecast 2018
About Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a disease of the blood cells and bone marrow. The most common hallmark of MDS is anemia, typically detected after patients display fatigue or tiredness. Patients with high-risk MDS have a median overall survival of 2.2 years according to the World Health Organization and survival after initial diagnosis is typically less than ten years1. Despite the great unmet need of MDS patients, few drugs are approved for the treatment of MDS. The standard of care for the first-line treatment of MDS are Hemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and hypomethylating agents (HMAs) which were approved twenty years ago. There are currently no approved treatments for second-line treatment of MDS.
1 Survival Statistics for Myelodysplastic Syndrome, NCI, 2018
Our Approach
We have built an innovative platform dedicated to overcoming the challenges of previous generations of cancer vaccines that enables us to generate deep and broad immune responses to a large range of tumor associated antigens (TAAs).
The Challenges of Cancer Vaccines
We know that antigen-specific T cells within the tumor microenvironment are a prerequisite for response to anti–PD-1 blockade.
Previous cancer vaccines have failed to adequately mimic an immunogenic viral infection through insufficient generation of antigen-specific T cells, insufficient breadth of T cell response (they aren’t polyspecific enough), insufficient numbers of the right kind of T cells (Teff cells), and inadequate T cell “fitness.”
Sensei’s Solution: A Powerful Phage Based Immunotherapy Platform, ImmunoPhage™
ImmunoPhage™ is an innovative platform leveraging the power of bacteriophage that facilitates the creation of “supercharged” vaccines for enhanced immune system activation.
Sensei Bio is decades ahead in using bacteriophage as a nanoparticle-based vaccine delivery system which overcomes the challenges of prior cancer vaccines. Sensei’s phage vaccines have multiple unique features that enable a broad and deep anti-cancer immune response:
- Self-adjuvanted through CpG/TLR9 and its icosahedral viral capsid geometry
- Targeted to Antigen Presenting Cells
- Capable of multivalent TAA display
- Capable of gene transfer and recombinant protein expression
- Able to “mimic” a viral infection
The result is a targeted vaccine approach that breaks central tolerance and drives robust immune responses against cancer.
Clinical proof of concept with our first phage-based immunotherapy program demonstrated the ability to break self-tolerance and produce a powerful, robust and multi-functional immune response to detect and destroy cancer. Our ImmunoPhage™ platform can drive antigen presenting cells into a pro-immunogenic state, where they optimally deliver innate and adaptive immune responses, including both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to tip the immune system towards an immunogenic versus a tolerogenic state.
Nanobody/Antibody Capability
Sensei Bio has recently acquired capabilities in nanobody generation, screening and optimization to facilitate the generation of our supercharged phage-based vaccines and standalone immunotherapy assets.
Nanobodies are small molecular weight antigen-binding domains (VHHs) with the potential for very high-affinity binding. Nanobodies demonstrate robust “drug-like” characteristics such as stability, manufacturability, and high sequence homology to human IgGs that may obviate need for humanization. Our first standalone nanobody based program is against V-domain immunoglobulin (Ig)-containing suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA), a B7 family member and negative regulator of T-cell responses.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
John Celebi has over 20 years of experience building innovative entrepreneurial biotechnology companies. Previously, Mr. Celebi served as the Chief Operating Officer of X4 Pharmaceuticals where he established and oversaw the company’s oncology business strategy. He also served as Chief Business Officer of Igenica Biotherapeutics, Inc., an immunotherapy company formed by The Column Group, 5AM Ventures, Orbimed and Third Rock Ventures, where he established key academic and industry relationships, including with MedImmune. He has extensive transactional and alliance management experience. Previously, he served as Vice President of Business Development, New Product Planning and Alliance Management at ArQule, Inc., where he played a central role in the formation of alliances with Roche, Daiichi-Sankyo, and Kyowa Hakko Kirin. Mr. Celebi was one of the early employees at Tularik, Inc., where he conducted drug discovery and basic research for an anti-viral drug program. Mr. Celebi received an M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Biophysics from the University of California, San Diego.
Pauline Callinan joined Sensei in 2018 and oversees Sensei’s strategic planning and business operations. She previously served as Sensei’s head of business development and has over a dozen years of experience forming partnerships between biotechnology companies, sources of venture capital and academic groups. Prior to joining Sensei, Dr. Callinan served in MedImmune’s Partnering and Strategy Group within the oncology therapeutic area, where she engaged in business development activities covering licensing of innovative assets, technologies and strategic partnerships. Prior to MedImmune, Dr. Callinan held various positions at Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer, most recently as Portfolio Director, Life Sciences, where she managed the Life Sciences Intellectual Property portfolio with a team of Technology Transfer Associates. Dr. Callinan completed a post-doc at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where she studied the epigenetics of human disease. She has published a book chapter, review articles and first authored publications in peer reviewed journals. Dr. Callinan holds a PhD degree in Biochemistry from the Louisiana State University, and a BSc Human Biology (with honors) from Loughborough University, U.K.
Dr. Jean Campbell has over 20 years of experience in research and development of oncology therapeutics. She joins Sensei from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, where she directed the immunopathology laboratory in the department of immunology. In previous roles, she led the Discovery Research program at OncoSec Medical, and was principal investigator of an NIH-funded research laboratory the University of Washington, department of pathology. She has a long-standing interest in cancer biology with a focus on understanding the contribution of the tumor microenvironment and targeting the TME to improve immuno-oncology treatments. Dr. Campbell joined the laboratory of Dr. Edwin Krebs (co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1992) at the University of Washington for her post-doctoral training. She earned her Ph.D. from the University Wisconsin in Madison, WI and completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the College of Wooster in Ohio. She is the co-author of over one hundred peer-reviewed journal and review articles and book chapters.
Alice Drumheller has over twenty years’ experience in the clinical operations area with the focus on executing clinical trials. Prior to joining the Sensei Bio, Alice was Senior Director of Clinical Operations at MacroGenics where she executed the company’s clinical strategy. Previous to MacroGenics, Alice was part of the team at Amgen/Micomet where she contributed to the approval of BLINCYTO®. Alice has held positions of increasing responsibility at large pharmaceutical companies, start-up companies and clinical research organizations, including Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kendle (now Syneos), British Biotech and Henri Beaufour Institute (a subsidiary of Ipsen). Alice holds a BS in Public and Community Health from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT.
Marie-Louise Fjällskog has has over 25 years of experience in clinical oncology, translational research, and drug development. Previously, Dr. Fjällskog served as Vice President Clinical Development at Merus and led the development of several clinical and preclinical bispecific antibody therapeutics in oncology. Prior to Merus, Dr. Fjällskog served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where she played an integral role in the expanded clinical development of IPI-549, an oncology candidate targeting PI3K-gamma. Earlier, she worked at the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, where she served as a Clinical Program Leader, Translational Clinical Oncology and as the global lead for several oncology programs, including those targeting CDK4/6, BCL-2, CSF-1, PD-1 and CD73. Dr. Fjällskog is an Associate Professor of Oncology at Uppsala University, Sweden, and she holds an M.D. and Ph.D. from Uppsala University School of Medicine.
Steven Fuller has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries working on a range of therapeutic and diagnostic products. Prior to joining Sensei, Dr. Fuller served as Vice President, Product and Process Development at Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. While at Nabi, he held positions of increasing responsibility in the development, GMP manufacture, quality control, quality assurance and clinical testing of vaccine and immune globulin products for infectious disease and drugs of addiction. Dr. Fuller was an integral part of a team that filed two biologics license applications for immunotherapeutic products and also filed numerous Investigation New Drug (IND) applications for vaccine products. At ADI Diagnostics, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Fuller was Director of Operations for ADI’s diagnostics development and manufacturing of tests for cancer and infectious disease. He is author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and multiple patents. Dr. Fuller received his B.S. degree in Biology from Wheaton College and his Ph.D. in genetics from Michigan State University.
Dr. Pierce is an anatomic pathologist with more than two decades of scientific leadership and experience managing large teams dedicated to translation medicine platforms in academia and industry, particularly in the area of immuno-oncology. Prior to Sensei, he was the Scientific Director of the Immunopathology Lab in the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Pierce is an Anatomic Pathologist with a strong academic and industry background in immuno-oncology. He was previously the Chief Scientific Officer of OncoSec. His research is focused on the mechanisms of tumor-induced immune tolerance and has longstanding expertise in the development of biomarkers to predict responses to immuno-oncology treatments. While at Merck, Dr. Pierce led a team focused on the development of tissue-based biomarkers for Merck’s anti-PD- 1 therapeutic antibody (pembrolizumab; KEYTRUDA®) and was the medical lead responsible for kicking-off the clinical trials of pembrolizumab in Merkel cell carcinoma and mycosis fungoides.
Edward van der Horst is a molecular pharmacologist with a strong focus on antibody drug development across diverse target classes in oncology. He has 18 years of research and development experience from Zenith Epigenetics Ltd, Igenica Biotherapeutics Inc., OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Tularik, Inc. (now Amgen) and U3 Pharma GmbH (now Daiichi-Sankyo). Edward’s contributions and discoveries have led to the clinical evaluation of several novel drug candidates at Igenica Biotherapeutics and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, as well as to the first clinical stage anti-HER3 antibody at U3 Pharma GmbH. Edward earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry and conducted his master’s thesis at Max-Planck Institute of Neurobiology. He received his postdoctoral training at Tularik, Inc. He graduated with a master’s degree of chemistry from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Broder is the former Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the largest and most important Agency for cancer research, where he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1989. While at the NCI, he oversaw the development of numerous anti-cancer therapeutic agents, helped launch a number of large-scale clinical trials related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer and inaugurated the highly successful SPORE Program. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and Health Sector Head at Intrexon Corporation. Dr. Broder spent his entire career in translational medicine and his laboratory interests have included antiretroviral therapy, the relationship between immunodeficiency disorders and cancer, the human genome, and the proteomics of cancer cells. In the mid-1980s, in response to the AIDS pandemic, he focused his attention on HIV-1/AIDS. His laboratory played a major role in developing the first 3 agents approved by FDA specifically to treat the AIDS virus, Retrovir® (AZT), Videx® (ddI), and HIVID® (ddC). After serving as the Director of the NCI from 1989-1995, Dr. Broder served as Senior Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at IVAX Corporation. He then joined the Celera Corporation, as the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, and helped advance the human genome project, the elucidation of the 3 billion letters of code that make up human DNA. He has received numerous scientific awards related to his research in cancer and AIDS. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1993.
John Celebi has over 20 years of experience building innovative entrepreneurial biotechnology companies. Previously, Mr. Celebi served as the Chief Operating Officer of X4 Pharmaceuticals where he established and oversaw the company’s oncology business strategy. He also served as Chief Business Officer of Igenica Biotherapeutics, Inc., an immunotherapy company formed by The Column Group, 5AM Ventures, Orbimed and Third Rock Ventures, where he established key academic and industry relationships, including with MedImmune. He has extensive transactional and alliance management experience. Previously, he served as Vice President of Business Development, New Product Planning and Alliance Management at ArQule, Inc., where he played a central role in the formation of alliances with Roche, Daiichi-Sankyo, and Kyowa Hakko Kirin. Mr. Celebi was one of the early employees at Tularik, Inc., where he conducted drug discovery and basic research for an anti-viral drug program. Mr. Celebi received an M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Biophysics from the University of California, San Diego.
Mr. Holmen has over 25 years’ experience working in and advising technology, healthcare and financial services companies. He has engaged at every phase of corporate development, from formation to financing to operations to exiting, and has served in diverse roles from electrical engineer (Hughes Aircraft) to an associate at major law firms (Latham &Watkins, Morrison & Foerster) to general counsel for a series of technology and financial services companies to co-founder and managing director for a family of venture funds (Miramar Venture Partners).
Currently, Mr. Holmen provides legal services to investors through his boutique law firm Investor Counsel, focused on the venture capital and private equity markets. His work encompasses fund formation, financing and operations, structuring and negotiating investments, mergers and acquisition, and purchaser representation. In addition, he continues to serve as a Managing Director for the legacy (fully invested) Miramar Venture Partners funds. Mr. Holmen also has served as an adjunct professor, teaching “Venture Capital Law” at the UC, Irvine Law School and “Investing in New Ventures” at USC’s Marshall School of Business, in addition to writing about venture and M&A matters. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and his J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall).
James Peyer, PhD is the Founder and CEO of a stealth-mode diversified pharmaceutical R&D holding company developing therapeutics targeting the biology of aging (‘geroscience’). The New York-based company builds, finances, and manages biotech companies. Dr. Peyer founded the company to translate laboratory breakthroughs in the extension of healthy lifespan into the clinic, predicting that the world is entering a revolution in biomedical research by targeting the root causes of aging and age-related disease.
Dr. Peyer has spoken on the topic of longevity biotech and investing for The Economist, TEDx, Longevity Leaders, ETH Zurich, and the Max Planck Institute on the Biology of Aging, to advance the mission of achieving widespread availability of longevity therapeutics this decade.
Before his current role, James was Founder and Managing Partner at Apollo Ventures, one of the major longevity-focused venture capital firms. Apollo has deployed over $20M and raised over $50M in the first three years of operations. He led investments in Cleara Biotech, Aeovian Pharmaceuticals, and Samsara Therapeutics and served on the Board and/or in executive roles for all three companies.
Prior to Apollo, James was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, earned his PhD in stem cell biology at UTSW as a National Science Foundation fellow, and received his B.A. with special honors from the University of Chicago.
Tom Ricks has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2015 and currently serves as Interim Chairman of the Board. Mr. Ricks is the former Chief Investment Officer of H&S Ventures LLC, a private investment firm. Prior to taking this position with H&S Ventures, he was Chief Executive Officer of The University of Texas Investment Management Company. Mr. Ricks also served as Vice Chancellor for Asset Management for The University of Texas System and as Executive Director of Finance and Private Investments. He has been a director of Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE:NFX) since 1992 and is Chairman of its Audit Committee. He is a former director of BDM International, DTM Corporation, LifeCell Corporation and Argus Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Ricks also previously served on the Investment Committee of the University of California Foundation, Irvine and previously served on the board of the Ocean Institute. Mr. Ricks holds a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College, an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Immuno-Oncology Advisory Board
Alain Algazi, M.D., is an oncologist and Associate Professor at The University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Algazi conducts clinical trials on personalized medical therapies for patients with head and neck and high-risk skin cancers, in addition to serving as the leader of the head and neck medical oncology research program at UCSF. Dr. Algazi has served as the national study chair for several pivotal trials in oncology and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and the American Association for Cancer Research. He also served previously as a member of The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Melanoma Panel.
Saar Gill, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where his clinical practice is bone marrow transplantation. His laboratory studies novel approaches to produce effective and safe CAR T cells for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and CAR macrophages for the treatment of solid cancers. Dr. Gill is a scientific committee member at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (where he is a recent past Chair of the Cancer Gene and Cell Therapy committee) and at the American Society of Hematology, and he was recently elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.
Sara Pai, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Surgeon and Director of Translational Research in Head and Neck Cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital. She leads several immunotherapy trials in head and neck cancer patients. Pai’s research interests focus on understanding mechanisms of immune evasion utilized by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and evaluates novel ways to reactive the host immune response against the virus as it relates to cancer cells. Dr. Pai is recognized both nationally and internationally as an expert in HPV-associated head and neck cancers and cancer immunotherapy, in addition she has a research laboratory that is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as industry.
Robert Schreiber, Ph.D., is an Andrew M. Bursky and Jane M. Bursky Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Professor of Molecular Microbiology, co-leader of the tumor immunology program at the Siteman Comprehensive Cancer Center and founding Director of the Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs at The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Schreiber is recognized globally as a pioneer in efforts to understand how the immune system may be useful in battling cancer. His research interests include the molecular and cellular basis of cancer immunoediting (a process that he discovered whereby the immune system protects against cancer development and shapes tumor immunogenicity), the biology and signaling of cytokines with special emphasis on IFN-gamma and TNF, as well as the role of IFN-gamma in tumor immunity. He has served in leadership roles for many international organizations. His has achieved multiple honors, including the 2017 Balzan Prize for Immunological Approaches in Cancer Therapy, membership in the National Academy of Sciences (US), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Cancer Research Institute’s Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic Tumor Immunology and the AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology.
Daniel H. Sterman, M.D., is the Thomas and Suzanne Murphy Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Departments of Medicine and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the New York University School of Medicine, and Director of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and Director of the Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Oncology Program at NYU Langone Health in New York City. He was previously lead clinical investigator in the multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Research Group at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Principal Investigator of the Clinical Trials Project for the NCI. Sterman’s research interests are related to the treatment of thoracic malignancies, specifically as they apply to the synergy of molecular medicine, tumor immunotherapy and novel technologies in Interventional Pulmonology. Over the past 20 years, he has focused on the translation of laboratory discoveries from the bench to the bedside: conducting multiple human clinical trials of gene therapy and vaccine therapy for lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other pleural malignancies. More recently, as Director of the NYU PORT (Pulmonary Oncology Research Team), Dr. Sterman has expanded his research interests into assessment of the immune microenvironment of tumor-draining lymph nodes, as well as the development of local intra-tumoral and intra-nodal immunotherapies.
NEWS
Sensei Biotherapeutics Announces Appointment of Marie-Louise Fjällskog, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer
Sensei Biotherapeutics Completes Acquisition of Alvaxa Biosciences, a Camelid Antibody Therapeutics Company
Sensei Biotherapeutics to Present at the 31st Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference
Sensei Biotherapeutics to Present at the 30th Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference
CAREERS
Sensei Bio is an innovator positioned to build the next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics. We have deep expertise in developing novel biologic therapies for cancer patients where unmet needs remain high.
We are a patient-focused, team-oriented, and product-driven organization. Our diverse employee base is united by a common vision: to be a globally recognized leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of precision therapeutics that positively impact the lives of patients. Like our namesake, the sensei, we work hard to constantly improve our and create products that teach the immune system to recognize and attack cancer.
CONTACT US
Sensei Biotherapeutics
Headquarters
620 Professional Drive
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
Boston R&D location
Smart Labs, Seaport District
6 Tide Street
Boston, MA 02210
+1.240.243.8000
