Dr. Zbigniew Zasłona joins OncoArendi Therapeutics as the new Director of the Biology Department. Dr Paweł Dobrzański, the current head of the Biology Department, will still be engaged in collaboration with OncoArendi as Senior Scientific Advisor on the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Zbigniew Zasłona, a biologist and scientist with impressive achievements in the area of pulmonary diseases (at Trinity College Dublin since 2015) has joined the research team of OncoArendi Therapeutics S.A. Prior to his collaboration with OncoArendi dr. Zasłona was a Senior Investigator at a biopharmaceutical company Sitryx, where he was responsible for studies on new therapeutic targets in the field of immunometabolism (development of anti-inflammatory medicines).

Dr. Zbigniew Zasłona, a biologist and scientist with impressive achievements in the area of pulmonary diseases (at Trinity College Dublin since 2015) has joined the research team of OncoArendi Therapeutics S.A. Prior to his collaboration with OncoArendi dr. Zasłona was a Senior Investigator at a biopharmaceutical company Sitryx, where he was responsible for studies on new therapeutic targets in the field of immunometabolism (development of anti-inflammatory medicines).

Dr. Zbigniew Zasłona is a globally renowned expert on inflammatory processes and pulmonary diseases, who has held numerous lectures at international conferences and has been widely cited in major scientific publications. Studies conducted at the Trinity College Dublin by research teams lead by dr. Zasłona resulted in a breakthrough finding, which demonstrated that Caspase-11 is a key driver of airway inflammation in asthma. These findings were published in February of this year in Nature Communications.

In October 2020 dr. Zbigniew Zasłona will join OncoArendi Therapeutics as the Director of the Biology Department, replacing at this position dr. Paweł Dobrzański, who will continue to support OncoArendi research as a Senior Scientific Advisor on the OncoArendi Scientific Advisory Board.

— Recently the OncoArendi team has recently been significantly strengthened by key internationally-experienced managers with notable scientific achievements. In January 2020 dr. Rafał Kamiński joined the OncoArendi team as its Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). In July dr. Timi Oshodi started at a position of Director of Preclinical Development. Now we are glad to announce that dr. Zbigniew Zasłona is also a part of our R&D team. This confirms our company’s great potential and attractiveness of its working environment for outstanding and ambitious scientists” — says Marcin Szumowski, CEO and President of the Management Board at OncoArendi Therapeutics S.A. “I am convinced that having dr. Zbigniew Zasłona as the new head of our Biology Department and continued collaboration with dr. Paweł Dobrzański as a Scientific Advisor will translate into tangible benefits for OncoArendi. The new perspective of dr. Zasłona supervised by our CSO dr. Rafał Kamiński and supported by the experience and advice of dr. Paweł Dobrzański, will increase the effectiveness of our research projects and contribute to the achievement of the strategic scientific and business goals — adds Szumowski.

The transition of dr. Paweł Dobrzański to the Scientific Advisory Board had been discussed and planned. The joint decision to change the form of current cooperation followed nearly four years of our fruitful collaboration, including over one and a half years as Scientific Director of the Biology Department.

“On behalf of our team I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to dr. Paweł Dobrzański for his extensive input into the growth of our company and its projects, especially those associated with preclinical research and the strategies of clinical development of OATD-01 and OATD-02 from our Chitinase and Arginase Platforms. At the same time we are happy that Paweł will continue to support us with his experience and advice as a member of the OncoArendi Scientific Advisory Board.” — says Marcin Szumowski.

Dr. Zbigniew Zasłona was awarded the doctoral degree in 2010 at the Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC) in Germany following investigation of the mechanisms modulating innate immunity in pneumonia. Having received the PhD he continued his research during a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, USA, focusing on pharmacology of GPCR receptors, particularly the pro-inflammatory lipid mediators. For his research he was awarded grants by German and American organisations: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the American Lung Association. Since 2015 he held a research position at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology of Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) and worked with a new biotechnological company Sitryx where he was responsible for R&D of anti-inflammatory medicines. In his research he explored the mechanisms of inflammasome inhibition (a complex molecular system responding to factors driving inflammation, which is critical for the defense against infection) and immunometabolism regulation. Moreover, he conducted the INsTRuCT programme, funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020, which focuses on myeloid regulatory cell (MRC)-based therapies. Dr. Zasłona has authored and co-authored over 30 publications in major peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Blood, Journal of Experimental Medicine and Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. His works have been cited over 1,400 times. In addition, he frequently reviews papers for immunology and pulmonology journals. Dr. Zbigniew Zasłona is a globally renowned expert on inflammatory processes and pulmonary diseases who has given numerous lectures at international scientific conferences.

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OncoArendi Therapeutics S.A. is an innovative biotech company focused on discovery, development and commercialisation of novel medicines to treat patients with pulmonary diseases and neoplasms. OncoArendi’s business model is based on discovery and development of new therapeutic compounds with the intention to out-license the medicines to pharmaceutical companies. The company develops potential first-in-class or best-in-class medicines for the treatment of diseases associated with unmet medical need. For the development of current research projects OncoArendi Therapeutics has obtained funds from private investors as well as from numerous grants co-financed by national funds, EU funds, Horizon 2020 and the US National Health Institute (NIH) following a competitive procedure. In March 2018 OncoArendi Therapeutics successfully conducted the initial public offering (IPO) which resulted in obtaining 58 million PLN for further development of its biotech projects in the future. The company was first listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on 19 April 2018.

For more information visit: https://oncoarendi.com/

Twitter: @oncoarendi

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