Cidara Therapeutics to Host Research and Development Day
Virtual panel discussion will highlight the company’s Cloudbreak® platform and its potential advantages in oncology
Event to be held on Thursday, July 7th at 10 AM ET
SAN DIEGO, June 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTX), a biotechnology company developing long-acting therapeutics designed to improve the standard of care for patients facing serious diseases, today announced that it will host a virtual research and development day on Thursday, July 7, 2022, at 10:00 AM Eastern Time.
The virtual event will feature a panel discussion with oncology key opinion leaders, Ezra Cohen, M.D., FRCPSC, FASCO, San Diego Center for Precision Immunotherapy, and Perry Nisen, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and Executive Chairman of Quanta. The panel discussion will be focused on Cidara’s Cloudbreak® platform, which couples potent inhibitors to a human antibody fragment to create highly potent, long-acting drug-Fc conjugates (DFCs) designed to simultaneously inhibit multiple disease targets.
Cidara has been developing Cloudbreak since 2018 and entered into a platform-validating collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in April 2021 for the development of CD388, currently in Phase 1 studies, for the universal prevention and treatment of influenza.
The panel will highlight the principles behind the Cloudbreak DFC approach, contrast it with antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), and small molecule applications and will review the potential advantages of DFCs in oncology. New data emerging from Cidara’s SARS-CoV-2 and oncology DFC programs in the immune checkpoint blockade pathway will be featured.
A question-and-answer session will follow. To register for the event please click .
Ezra Cohen, M.D., FRCPSC, FASCO is the Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology, and Co- Director of the San Diego Center for Precision Immunotherapy. A physician-scientist, Dr. Cohen led an independently funded laboratory interested in investigating the mechanisms of action of novel therapeutics and made major contributions to the development of targeted- and immuno-therapies. His research in areas such as epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, cell therapy, and immunotherapy in head and neck cancer has received peer-reviewed funding. He has made major contributions to the understanding of critical signaling pathways, the integration of novel agents into standard of care, and to the defining of mechanisms to overcome resistance to drug therapy. He also recently co-developed a personalized neoantigen vaccine using unique cancer mutations to boost an anti-tumor immune response.
Dr. Cohen also serves as Associate Director for Clinical Science, Co-Leader of the Solid Tumor Therapeutics Research Program and Co-Director of the Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center at Moores Cancer Center. Additionally, he is a member of the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee (PRMC), the Cancer Council, and the Cancer Center’s Executive Committee.
Perry Nisen, M.D., Ph.D. became CEO of Quanta Therapeutics in June 2021 after having served as the founding Executive Chairman of the company during its formation in his role as Executive Partner at Sofinnova Investments beginning in 2018. He is a physician scientist with extensive experience in drug discovery and development, with particular interest in oncology. Perry is the former CEO of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP). As CEO, he was responsible for all aspects of the organization, including strategy, operations and performance. Prior to SBP, he held multiple senior leadership positions during his tenure at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), including SVP of Science and Innovation, interim Chief Medical Officer, and Oncology Therapy Area Head. Responsibilities at GSK included all aspects of drug discovery, clinical development, risk/benefit and operations. Before GSK, Perry was the Divisional Vice President, Cancer Research then Oncology Clinical Development at Abbott Laboratories. Prior to industry, he was the Lowe Foundation Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Perry holds a BS from Stanford University, and MD/PhD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is also an independent Director of TEVA Pharmaceuticals, and chair of their science and technology committee.
Les Tari, Ph.D. serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Cidara Therapeutics and is the principal inventor of the Cloudbreak DFC approach. Dr. Tari has over 19 years of experience in early stage drug discovery in both industry and academia. He has led a number of discovery programs and is an author or inventor on over 50 publications and patents. Previous to Cidara, Dr. Tari held positions of increasing responsibility at Trius Therapeutics from 2007 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in 2013. At Trius, Dr. Tari led the efforts to generate and advance a novel class of dual-targeting broad spectrum antibacterial agents. Prior to Trius, Dr. Tari was a co-founder and Director of Structural Biology from 2003 to 2007 at ActiveSight Inc., where he led all research efforts in inflammation and oncology. From 2001 until 2003, Dr. Tari was a member of the scientific staff during the start-up phase of Syrrx Inc., where he participated in the design and development of the first industrial high-throughput structural genomics platform that aided in the discovery of Alogliptin, subsequently approved for the treatment of type II diabetes. Previous to his career in industry, Dr. Tari held an academic position as an Alberta Heritage Foundation Scholar for Medical Research at the University of Calgary, where he conducted research focused on antibiotic discovery. Dr. Tari holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Structural Biology from the University of Manitoba.
About Cidara Therapeutics
Cidara is developing long-acting therapeutics designed to improve the standard of care for patients facing serious diseases. The Company’s portfolio is comprised of new approaches aimed at transforming existing prevention and treatment paradigms, first with its lead Phase 3 antifungal candidate, rezafungin, in addition to drug-Fc conjugates (DFCs) targeting viral and oncology diseases from Cidara’s proprietary Cloudbreak platform. Cidara is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, please visit
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipates,” “look forward to,” “will” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes and are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies, among other things, and in this release include, but are not limited to, statements related to the potential for influenza DFCs, including CD388, to provide universal prevention against seasonal and pandemic influenza, intentions to provide further updates on the CD388 program, the timing of the NDA filing for rezafungin with the FDA and other regulators outside the U.S. and the ability of the Company’s product portfolio to transform existing prevention and treatment paradigms. Such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, such as unanticipated delays in or negative results from Cidara’s preclinical or clinical trials, delays in action by regulatory authorities due to limitations on inspections and other COVID-19-related effects, and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic or other obstacles on the enrollment of patients or other aspects of CD388 development. These and other risks are identified under the caption “Risk Factors” in Cidara’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other filings subsequently made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date. Cidara does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of the receipt of new information, the occurrence of future events or otherwise.
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