Expert Roundtable: Clinical success of checkpoint inhibitors: what's next for combination therapy in I-O?

Jason J. Luke, MD, FACP

Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Director of Cancer Immunotherapeutics, Hillman Cancer Center

Director of the Cancer Immunotherapeutics Center. Dr. Luke specializes in early phase drug development for solid tumors (particularly novel immunotherapeutics and biomarkers of immunotherapy activity) as well as the management of cutaneous oncology, particularly patients with melanoma. Dr. Luke has been a lead national investigator on clinical trials of immunotherapies including but not limited to anti-PD1/L1, CTLA4, many secondary checkpoints, bispecific approaches (checkpoint, CD3 and cytokine), metabolism modifiers (IDO, A2Ar/CD73/CD39 and arginase), innate agonists of STING, TLRs and oncolytic virus as well as solid tumor cellular therapies (TCRs and CART). Dr. Luke has been a major contributor toward the investigation of radiation and the microbiome in relation to cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Luke’s major translational research focus leverages large scale informatics to advance cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Luke received his M.D. from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago. He then pursued internship and residency at the Boston University Medical Center followed by medicine and medical oncology fellowships at Weill Cornell Medical College and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Following fellowship, Dr. Luke was a tenure-track, Type 1 Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as Staff Physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Thereafter Dr. Luke was an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago. Dr. Luke is actively involved in several professional societies including the Society for Melanoma Research, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Luke has served as the chair of the education committee and as a member of the scientific committee for the melanoma track of the ASCO annual meeting. Dr. Luke has received several awards for research and clinical care including the Melanoma Research Foundation Humanitarian Award, Crain’s 40 under 40, Department of Defense Career Development Award, Paul Calabresi Career Development in Clinical Oncology Award (K12), ASCO Merit Award as well as Young Investigator Awards from the Melanoma Research Alliance, the Cancer Research Foundation and the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO. Dr. Luke’s research has been supported by ASCO, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the National Cancer Institute.

Justin Fairchild, MPH, BA

Vice President of Clinical Development, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

Justin has over 15 years of oncology drug development experience contributing to early and late stage clinical studies of a broad range of approved drugs including cetuximab, dasatinib, ipilimumab and nivolumab across multiple cancer indications. Justin is currently Justin Fairchild Vice President of Clinical Development at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy where he is responsible for a cross functional team driving clinical trial execution and the delivery of novel immunotherapy clinical studies. Previously he was at Bristol Myers Squibb for 14 years where he held multiple roles in both IO Clinical Development and Clinical Operations. Prior to joining BMS, Justin worked in the oncology clinical trials department at Greater Baltimore Medical Center and as a discovery chemist at Pfizer. He received an MPH from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and a BA in Chemistry from Colgate University.

Robin G. Taylor, MBA, PhD

Independent Biopharma Strategy Consultant

Independent biopharma strategy consultant with over twenty years of experience in Oncology drug development and commercialization. Most recently Robin was the Chief Commercial Officer of Seattle Genetics. Prior to that he held positions of increasing responsibility at Genentech/Roche and AstraZeneca for global commercialization of leading brands such as Herceptin, Avastin, Tarceva, Alecensa, Tecentriq, and Imfinzi. He led the Immuno-Oncology franchises at both AZ and Genentech/Roche seeking to develop synergistic IO combinations to engage the power of the immune system in restoring the lives of cancer patients. Robin holds a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from UC Berkeley.

Reni J. Benjamin, PhD

Managing Director, Equity Research, Biotechnology, JMP Securities

Dr. Reni Benjamin is a Managing Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst at JMP Securities. His coverage consists of small/mid-cap biotechnology companies in the oncology sector. Dr. Benjamin has previously been ranked for recommendation performance and earnings accuracy by StarMine, cited in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Financial Times, and Smart Money, and has made appearances on Bloomberg television/radio and CNBC. He has authored a chapter in a book entitled “The Delivery of Regenerative Medicine and Their Impact on Healthcare”, was a member of the UAB School of Health Professions Deans Advisory Board, and presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) and on the Advisory Board for Phacilitate Cell & Gene Therapy. Prior to joining JMP Securities, Dr. Benjamin was a Managing Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Raymond James, H.C. Wainwright, Burrill Securities and Rodman & Renshaw. He earned his doctorate in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and his expertise includes biochemistry, functional genomics, gene therapy and molecular biology. Dr. Benjamin received his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Allegheny College.

Please enter your email to access content Read now