SpyBiotech Appoints Dr. Prakash Bhuyan as Chief Medical Officer

Oxford, UK and Cambridge, MA – (August 12, 2024) — SpyBiotech, a biotechnology company with a novel vaccine platform technology that can target infectious diseases, cancer, and chronic diseases, has appointed Dr. Prakash Bhuyan as Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Bhuyan is an infectious disease specialist with over 20 years of experience in academia and industry. Most recently, Prakash was Chief Medical Officer at Aerium. Before Aerium, he served as the Head of Clinical Development for Vaccines and Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca, organizing and managing the teams that developed COVID solutions (Vaxzevria™ and Evusheld™), as well as RSV and influenza-focused products. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, at Inovio Pharmaceuticals leading the product development of a novel HPV therapeutic into Phase 3, achieving pivotal trial success.

Prakash held vaccines and biologics leadership roles at Pfizer and Merck which resulted, respectively, in Trumenba™ becoming the first vaccine licensed in the US for the prevention of Meningococcal B disease and Vaxelis™, a pediatric hexavalent vaccine that makes complete childhood vaccination achievable, moving into Phase 3 development with subsequent US and EU licensures. Prakash earned an MD and PhD in Immunology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, a Specialization in Internal Medicine from Emory University, and a Sub-specialization in Infectious Disease from the University of Pennsylvania.

“This is a pivotal time to join the talented team at SpyBiotech,” said Dr. Prakash Bhuyan. “The research collaboration with the University of Oxford, the fundamental progress of the Phase I HCMV vaccine trial, and the growth of the company have positioned SpyBiotech to take on the most challenging unmet medical needs.”

“We are delighted to welcome Prakash to the SpyBiotech team. He brings an incredible depth of expertise in infectious diseases to our leadership team, and his success in helping to bring multiple products to market will serve SpyBiotech well as we move further into the clinic,” said Mark Leuchtenberger, Chief Executive Officer.

About SpyBiotech

SpyBiotech is a clinical stage biotechnology company with novel vaccine platform technologies to target infectious diseases, cancer and chronic diseases. The company was spun out of the University of Oxford in 2017 by Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) and Google Ventures (GV). The company raised $32.5 million in a Series A equity financing in 2021. Based on science developed at the University of Oxford, SpyBiotech’s novel vaccine platform is based on a proprietary protein “superglue” technology which binds antigens to vaccine delivery platforms in a way which minimizes delivery risk and enhances immunogenicity and efficacy. This makes it ideal for use against infectious diseases in challenging environments, such as in the developing world, but also with potential application in non-infectious disease settings such as cancer. SpyBiotech has the exclusive rights from the University of Oxford to apply, commercialize and sub-license the SpyTag/SpyCatcher and related “superglue” technologies in vaccine development.

US Media:
Karen Sharma
CG Life
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UK Media:
Elly Williamson
Sodali & Co.
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