Biomunex Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company that develops immunotherapies through the discovery and development of bi- and multi-specific antibodies in cancer treatment, has appointed Dr. Simon Plyte as chief scientific officer (CSO) and as a member of its scientific advisory board.
 
Plyte brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, spanning over two decades in R&D at the senior management level, within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. He has a proven track record in drug discovery and development, successfully bringing both New Chemical Entities and New Biological Entities to the clinic in oncology.
 
This appointment will strengthen and significantly impact Biomunex’s R&D strategy: to use Biomunex’s bi-specific antibody platform, BiXAb, in the redirection of its unique non-conventional T cell subset for the treatment of cancer and to advance the antibody platform to tri-specificity and beyond. Biomunex was one of the national laureates of the ‘New biotherapies and bioproduction tools’ scheme in November 2021 for a project focused on its non-conventional T Cell redirection approach, which received close to $3.5 million in grants from the French government.
 
“I am thrilled to join Biomunex and bring to the team my expertise in drug discovery and development in both big pharma and biotech; especially in the field of bi- and multi-specific antibodies. Biomunex’s unique proprietary BiXAb technology platform has best-in-class potential for the rapid creation of bi- and multi-specific antibodies from any pair of monoclonal antibodies with no extensive engineering and with excellent manufacturability,” said Plyte. “It has demonstrated both its relevance and potential through several key collaborations, such as those with Sanofi, Onward Therapeutics and the Institut Curie. I am glad to work with the team as we pave the way for safer and more efficacious disruptive immunotherapeutic approaches.”
 
Dr. Pierre-Emmanuel Gerard, CEO and founder of Biomunex, said, “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Simon Plyte to the team and the scientific advisory board. With his extensive dual expertise in discovery and development in both biotech and pharma, Simon will help bring Biomunex drug candidates forward through preclinical and early clinical development. His invaluable R&D experience and strong managerial skills will further support our ambitions in relation to our current fundraising activities.”
 
Plyte’s appointment is part of Biomunex’s strategy to strengthen its internal scientific knowledge base. Biomunex recently opened new laboratories in Paris and has established a scientific advisory board focused on non-conventional T Cell redirection.

Experience

Plyte has over 20 years hands-on experience in biotech and large pharmaceutical companies and a strong background in discovering and developing innovative new drugs in oncology, in particular in bispecific antibodies. Before joining Biomunex, he held the positions of vice-president, immuno-oncology, at Merus (Utrecht, Netherlands), senior director, immuno-oncology, at Molecular Partners AG (Zurich, Switzerland) and director in Immuno-Oncology and New Biological Entities at Boehringer Ingelheim (Biberach, Germany).
 
Prior to joining Boehringer Ingelheim, Plyte was focused on the development of new drugs in oncology, both in big pharma (Pharmacia/Pfizer) and small biotech (Congenia, Nerviano Medical Sciences).
 
Before entering the industry, Plyte was a post-doctoral fellow at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (London, UK) and the Ontario Cancer Institute (Toronto, Canada). He has a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics from the University of Portsmouth, UK. Plyte is the co-author of more than 30 publications and patents.