Appointment brings in-depth expertise of company development and investment and enhanced contacts in Asia to Oxford Vacmedix

Press Release – Appointment of Mr Chong-Yoon Lim as Director

Oxford Vacmedix (OVM), the UK-based biopharma company focused on the development of cancer vaccines announced today the appointment of Mr. Chong-Yoon Lim as a Director of the company, representing Cancer ROP.  Mr. Lim is the CEO of Hanmi Science, one of the largest bio-pharma companies in South Korea and has recently acquired a leading shareholding in Cancer ROP, the principal Series A investor in OVM.

William Finch, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Vacmedix said;

“I am delighted to welcome Mr Lim to the Board of Oxford Vacmedix at this critical time, as we advance our lead cancer vaccine, OVM-200, into Phase 1. Mr Lim has extensive experience with company development and financing with many years of working in biotech in the US, China and South Korea with particular expertise in immunology and drug development. In his role on the Board he will be able to support OVM as we move forward to achieve our vision of advancing effective vaccines that address the unmet medical needs of cancer patients.”

Mr Lim qualified from Boston College in 1993 with a degree in Biochemistry followed by an MA in Jazz Composition from Berklee College at Boston. He joined Hanmi Pharma in 2000 and was appointed as CEO in 2009, also taking roles as the CEO of Beijing Hanmi and of Hanmi China.  In 2007 he established Coree Therapeutics in South Korea.  He was responsible for the rapid development of the Hanmi businesses, including the registration and approval of many new pharmaceutical products and the out-licensing of multiple drug candidates to other global companies.  In 2016 Mr. Lim became the CEO of Hanmi Science and in 2019 he was appointed the Chairman of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organisation.

Mr Lim commented;

“I am very pleased to be joining the Board of Oxford Vacmedix. The ROP technology offers a real hope to provide safe and effective therapies to help people with cancer live longer and better lives, I look forward to supporting the company as the vaccines progress into the clinic. The technology also has applications for infectious diseases which the company may be able to take forward with appropriate funding in Series B.”

About Oxford Vacmedix

Oxford Vacmedix UK Ltd, based at the Oxford Science Park, UK, is a bio-pharma company that was spun out from the University of Oxford’s Department of Oncology and is utilising the novel proprietary platform technology of recombinant overlapping peptides (ROPs) invented by Dr Shisong Jiang. ROPs have been validated as a technology to stimulate broad and strong T cell immunity therefore forming a good platform for cancer therapeutic vaccines and diagnostics.

The technology uses the novel, proprietary platform of ROPs to design and develop therapeutic cancer vaccines and diagnostics with the potential for increased efficacy, lower costs, simpler regulatory pathways and synergy when used in combination with other immune oncology (IO) agents. The company has extensive contacts and collaborations in China through Changzhou Bioscience Group (CBIG) that is using the ROP platform to develop diagnostics.

OVM is developing two lead vaccines, OVM-100 and OVM-200, focusing on unmet clinical need. OVM-100 is an HPV vaccine targeted at cervical cancer, and OVM-200 represents a new type of vaccine utilising survivin to target solid tumours. Both vaccines will be tested as single agents and in combination with other IO agents.

OVM secured Series A investment from Cancer ROP, a leading South Korean healthcare institution, listed in KOSDAQ, and from existing shareholders in China in 2018. The Company is looking to advance OVM-200 to Phase 2 and OVM-100 into Phase 1 trials, as a monotherapy but also in combination with IO agents.

For more information, please visit: https://www.oxfordvacmedix.com/

About Hanmi Science

Hanmi Pharm was established in 1973 with a motto ‘to develop better drugs for precious lives’ and to advance to the global market as a representative of the Korean Pharmaceutical industry by focusing on R&D. Hanmi Pharm became a pioneer of developing first-in-class drugs in collaboration with global leading pharmaceutical companies. In particular Hanmi strives to develop treatments for diabetes, obesity, cancer, autoimmune and rare disease to maintain health and improve quality of life.

Hanmi has received GMP certifications from food and drugs authorities in developed countries and also promotes public health by exporting finished products to global pharmaceutical companies based upon differentiated quality management. Hanmi adopted the new slogan “Trust Based Management” to illustrate the company ethos of always being trustworthy and transparent. Along with this, Hanmi has ambition to become a world’s innovative pharmaceutical company and to support S. Korea become a leading player in global pharmaceutical industry.

For more information, please visit: https://www.hanmipharm.com

Source: Oxford Vacmedix

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