After the pandemic, antibody R&D remains key

The onslaught of a global pandemic triggered a frenzy of R&D activity in the industry. But where we saw a revolution in vaccine development in record time, finding new drugs to effectively fight the virus remained difficult and fraught with failure and half-measures of success. Nevertheless, a group of players is still actively engaged in developing a new generation of antibodies to fight this virus, and others to come. We’ll talk to the key leaders in the field about where this is headed, and how it may more broadly affect everyone doing antibody work.

David Margolis

Vice President, Head of Infectious Diseases Therapy Area, Brii Biosciences

Dr. Margolis is accountable for Brii’s clinical programs of infectious diseases therapy area in US and provides strategic input and support for the clinical programs in China.

Prior to joining the company, Dr. Margolis was Medical Director and Senior Medical Director for both GSK and ViiV Healthcare, serving as the lead physician for the clinical development program for the long-acting integrase inhibitor, cabotegravir. Within this role he created and executed the strategic plan for the clinical development of this first long-acting treatment regimen in HIV, CAB+RPV, inclusive of the clinical collaborations with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, IMPAACT and the ACTG, resulting in worldwide regulatory submissions and the first approval and launch of this novel approach to HIV therapy. David also oversaw the clinical collaboration with the NIH for the evaluation of cabotegravir for the prevention of HIV and has worked across all stages of clinical development from pre-clinical discovery through Phase 3 and post-marketing studies. While at GSK and ViiV, Dr. Margolis maintained a clinical ID practice , serving as an Assistant Consulting Professor in the Infectious Diseases Department of Duke University Medical Center for the prior 8 years, caring for patients with infectious diseases and serving as the lead attending for the ID fellow’s clinic.

Dr. Margolis received his MD from Duke University School of Medicine, concurrent with a Masters of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and then completed an Internal Medicine residency at University of Colorado Health Science Center and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at University of California at San Diego in La Jolla, with a research focus on infectious diseases in the immunocompromised host.

Carl Hansen

Director & CEO, AbCellera

Carl Hansen is AbCellera’s founding CEO. Until August 2019, Carl was a Professor at the University of British Columbia, where he co-authored over 65 manuscripts in the fields of microfluidics, immunology, genomics, and nanotechnology. He is an inventor of over 50 US patents and 63 US patent applications that are represented in 7 commercial products. He received the Michael Smith Career investigator award and was recently named one of the “Top 5 Canadian CEOs who elevate their companies.” Carl received his PhD in Applied Physics/Biotechnology from Caltech, and a BASc in Engineering Physics and Honors Mathematics from the University of British Columbia. Before leading AbCellera, he was a scientific Co-Founder of Precision Nanosystems, a Vancouver-based company developing next-generation delivery technology for genetic medicines, and served on the SAB of Fluidigm Corp.

Phil Pang

Chief Medical Officer, Vir Biotechnology

Dr. Pang serves as Chief Medical Officer for Vir, where he is responsible for overseeing the Company’s global clinical development portfolio. His career in industry has been dedicated to the development of novel therapies to address some of the world’s most challenging infectious diseases. Since joining the company in 2016, Dr. Pang has advanced numerous compounds through early- mid- and into late-stage clinical development, including the company’s lead SARS-CoV-2 candidate, VIR-7831, which moved into Phase 3 in October 2020.

Prior to joining Vir, Dr. Pang served as Chief Medical Officer of Riboscience LLC, a Roche-spinoff developing small molecule antivirals. Previously, during his four-year tenure as Program Lead at Gilead Sciences, Inc., Dr. Pang led a large matrix team to the successful worldwide approval of the first one-pill, once-a-day hepatitis C treatment.

Dr. Pang received his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Stanford University and holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics from Columbia University. His dissertation focused on viral molecular motors. He obtained his M.D. from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and completed his fellowship in infectious diseases at Stanford University.

moderator

Kyle Blankenship

Senior Editor, Endpoints News

A native of Austin, Kyle previously worked as an associate editor at another leading biopharma publication and has held editor roles at two daily newspapers in Texas. In addition to a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University, Kyle holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Texas in Denton. At Endpoints, Kyle leads the company’s manufacturing coverage as well as running point on virtual events, editing and content strategy. An avid cook and history nerd, you can find Kyle hovering over the stove—spatula in one hand and a World War II tome in the other.