NW Bio Expands Senior Management Team With Dr. Kevin Duffy As Vice President, Medical Affairs & External Collaborations

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwest Biotherapeutics (OTCQB: NWBO) ("NW Bio"), a biotechnology company developing DCVax® personalized immune therapies for solid tumor cancers, today announced that it has expanded its senior management team with the addition of Dr. Kevin T. Duffy as Vice President, Medical Affairs and External Collaborations.

Dr. Duffy is joining NW Bio from Merck, where he has served as Research Scientific Director in the Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) program during the last five years.  Dr. Duffy's roles included scientific support and outreach to health care providers and national and regional scientific leaders in over 20 different solid tumors and hematologic malignancies (blood cancers and lymphomas) relating to Merck's clinical development and commercialization of Keytruda, as well as ongoing scientific support for Merck's Investigator-Initiated Study Program.  He served as the national contact point between the scientific affairs team working with medical professionals in the field and the internal research and development team in Merck for the Keynote-024 study in first-line non-small cell lung cancer, the Keynote-522 and -756 studies in triple negative breast cancer and ER+/HER2- breast cancer, and the Keynote-641 study in metastatic prostate cancer. 

Dr. Duffy also served as Scientific Affairs Strategy and Training Lead in Merck's Global Center for Scientific Affairs for Merck's immuno-oncology franchise for hematologic malignancies.  Dr. Duffy was the recipient of numerous achievement awards during his tenure at Merck.

In his roles at Merck, Dr. Duffy has been involved in the Keytruda development program from its early days through its wide commercialization.  He has gained extensive experience with clinical trial designs and strategies, clinical results and feedback from medical professionals.  He has built a nationwide network with key opinion leaders in both the clinical and the scientific arenas.

Prior to his time at Merck, Dr. Duffy served in Medical Affairs and Scientific Affairs positions in several pharmaceutical companies, including as a Regional Scientific Manager for oncology and cardiovascular therapeutics at AstraZeneca.  Dr. Duffy has a Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology and structural biology, with a focus on oncology, as well as an MBA. 

Dr. Duffy commented, "My years at Merck, from inception of the Keytruda programs, have been exciting and invaluable.  As I look forward now to the next wave of advances in immune therapies for cancer, I am excited about the potential of NW Bio's DCVax technologies to deliver new breakthroughs for patients.  I hope to build on my experience in immuno-oncology and my network of relationships in the field to help NW Bio achieve this potential." 

Linda Powers, CEO of NW Bio, noted that "Dr. Duffy's experience with immune therapies for cancer and one of the most successful product development programs in the field will be an invaluable addition to our team.  We at NW Bio could not be more excited about Dr. Duffy's choice to join us and help realize the broad potential of DCVax." 

About Northwest Biotherapeutics

Northwest Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing personalized immunotherapy products designed to treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, without toxicities of the kind associated with chemotherapies, and on a cost-effective basis, in both North America and Europe.  The Company has broad platform technologies for DCVax® dendritic cell-based vaccines.  The Company's lead program is a 331-patient Phase III trial of DCVax®-L for newly diagnosed Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).  GBM is the most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer, and is an "orphan disease."  The Company is also pursuing a Phase I/II trial with DCVax®-Direct for all types of inoperable solid tumor cancers.  It has completed the 40-patient Phase I portion of the trial, and is preparing for Phase II portions.  The Company previously conducted a Phase I/II trial with DCVax®-L for metastatic ovarian cancer together with the University of Pennsylvania. 

Disclaimer 

Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements concerning future treatment of patients using DCVax and future clinical trials, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Words such as "expect," "believe," "intend," "design," "plan," "continue," "may," "will," "anticipate," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.  We cannot guarantee that we will achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.  Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements.  Specifically, there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, such as risks related to the Company's ability to complete its clinical trials on a timely basis, uncertainties about the clinical trial results and data, uncertainties about the timely performance of third parties, risks related to whether the Company's products will demonstrate safety and efficacy, risks related to the Company's ongoing ability to raise additional capital, and other risks included in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings.  Additional information on the foregoing risk factors and other factors, including Risk Factors, which could affect the Company's results, is included in its SEC filings.  Finally, there may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement.  The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.

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SOURCE Northwest Biotherapeutics