WALTHAM, Mass., March 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TScan Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: TCRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cell therapies (TCR-T) for the treatment of patients with cancer, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Gavin MacBeath, Ph.D., as acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective March 28, 2023. He will continue to serve as Chief Scientific and Operating Officer. David Southwell has stepped down as CEO and member of the Board, effective March 27, 2023.
Dr. MacBeath joined TScan in 2018. As the architect of the Company’s scientific platform and clinical programs, Dr. MacBeath will continue to lead the execution of TScan’s clinical strategy and research and development activities. He has more than two decades of experience in academia and industry, serving as Faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University and as a Principal Investigator at Harvard Medical School. Dr. MacBeath co-founded three oncology companies, including Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, where he led discovery, translational research and Phase 1/2 clinical development.
Chairman of the Board Timothy Barberich, said, “On behalf of the Board, we look forward to working with Gavin to continue the important work underway at TScan. We thank David for his contributions to the Company, which is well-positioned to execute on its vision and harness the power of immunotherapy for cancer patients. We wish David well in his future endeavors.”
“TScan continues to make exciting progress using TCR-T for the treatment of patients with cancer. We recently announced the first patient dosed for one of our lead assets, TSC-101, the first clinical cell therapy product targeting minor histocompatibility antigen HA-2 to prevent relapse in patients with hematological malignancies undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation,” said Dr. MacBeath. “I look forward to building on the progress across our portfolio for the benefit of cancer patients.”
Mr. Southwell noted, “I am proud of what TScan has accomplished to date and look forward to following the Company’s continued success as I move on to other opportunities.”
Clinical Program and Financial Update
Programs at TScan continue to advance, in line with the progress outlined in the Company’s recent earnings release on March 8, 2023. TScan remains on-track to enroll patients into all three arms of the hematologic malignancies clinical trial (
On the solid tumor program, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared TScan’s first three investigational new drug (IND) applications and the Company is currently activating clinical sites to initiate patient enrollment in the third quarter of this year. TScan’s ImmunoBank expansion remains on track, with two INDs expected to be filed by mid-year 2023, and additional INDs to be filed by year-end.
As of December 31, 2022, TScan Therapeutics had cash and cash equivalents of $120.0 million, excluding $5.0 million of restricted cash. Based on current operating plans, the Company believes that existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second quarter of 2024.
Additional Biographical Details about Gavin MacBeath
Dr. MacBeath’s experience prior to joining TScan includes serving as Co-founder and Senior Vice President of Discovery at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals where he advanced several biologics through IND, Phase 1, and Phase 2 clinical development. He began his career in academia, where he served as the first fellow at Harvard’s Bauer Center for Genomics Research, as an Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Harvard University, and as Lecturer and Principal Investigator at Harvard Medical School. Dr. MacBeath received his undergraduate degree with Honors in genetics from the University of Manitoba, his Ph.D. from Scripps Research Institute and completed his postdoctoral training in chemical biology with Dr. Stuart Schreiber at Harvard University.
About TScan Therapeutics, Inc.
TScan is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cell therapies (TCR-T) for the treatment of patients with cancer. The Company’s lead TCR-T therapy candidates, TSC-100 and TSC-101, are in development for the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies to eliminate residual disease and prevent relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. The Company is also developing multiplexed TCR-T therapy candidates for the treatment of various solid tumors. The Company has developed and continues to build its ImmunoBank, the Company’s repository of therapeutic TCRs that recognize diverse targets and are associated with multiple HLA types, to provide customized multiplexed TCR-T therapies for patients with a variety of solid tumors.
