Hadasit Newsletter – September 2021

As we continue to fight COVID-19 together with the medical community, we look ahead to the New Year and back upon the last three quarters of 2021. We are pleased to share the recent successes of our portfolio companies and proud to see that Hadassah innovation continues to flourish.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dalia Itzik as Chair of the Board of Directors of Hadasit. As a former Speaker of the Knesset and minister of several influential government ministries, Ms. Itzik has devoted her career to public service. In 2007 she also served as Acting President of the State of Israel. We wish her much success in this new endeavor and are confident that, under her leadership, Hadasit will continue to break new ground and explore new frontiers in medical research and technology.

I hope you will enjoy reading and wish you a Shana Tova, Happy New Year.
Tamar Raz
CEO

Hadasit portfolio company KAHR (https://kahrbio.com), which is developing a novel multifunctional cancer immunotherapy, closed an investment round raising $46.5 million. The financing was led by aMoon with participation of BVF Partners LP, DAFNA Capital Management LLC, Peregrine Ventures, Shavit Capital, the Cancer Focus Fund, Flerie Invest AB, Oriella Limited (CBG, chaired by Vincent Tchenguiz), Pavilion Capital, Hadasit Bio Holdings Ltd (HBL) and Mirae Asset.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance clinical development of the company’s lead product candidate, DSP107, a first-in-class CD47x41BB targeting fusion protein for the treatment of solid and blood cancers, through multiple Phase 1/2 studies as well as the development of its preclinical pipeline through IND-enabling studies.

KAHR develops smart immune-recruitment cancer drugs that activate a targeted immune response by converting cancer camouflage into beacons for the immune system to attack.

Hadasit portfolio company Enlivex Therapeutics, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ENLV, https://enlivex.com), reported that after reviewing previously-reported Phase II trial data, the Israeli Ministry of Health has authorized the initiation of a proposed company-sponsored, multi-center, placebo-controlled, randomized, blinded, Phase IIb clinical trial evaluating Allocetra^TM in severe and critical COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

The Phase IIb trial is expected to recruit up to 152 severe or critical COVID-19 patients in clinical centers in Israel and certain European countries, and is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of Allocetra^TM when administered in addition to standard of care treatment.

Hadasit has entered into a research collaboration and licensing agreement with microbiome therapeutics company MyBiotics Pharma Ltd. (http://www.mybiotics-pharma.com) to identify microbiome-based therapeutics that will enhance the response and reduce adverse effects of anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors in melanoma patients.

The collaboration will combine Hadassah’s know-how and expertise in immunotherapy treatment of melanoma patients with MyBiotics proprietary microbiome technologies, enabling the development of novel therapeutics. The research project will be conducted by researchers from MyBiotics together with a team of researchers at Hadassah Cancer Research Institute headed by Prof. Michal Lotem, MD, Head of the Center for Melanoma and Cancer Immunotherapy, Department of Oncology at Hadassah Medical Center.

In the last five years, studies elucidating the possible contribution of the microbiome to cancer development and treatment response have been at the forefront of scientific research. This collaboration is a shining example of the partnerships Hadasit strives to create between medical companies and hospital-based research centers.

The largest funding round was $6M by MDI Health (https://www.mdihealth.com), which is developing an AI platform for personalized medication. The company tested its platform on data from Hadassah and is collaborating with Prof. Arie Ben Yehuda, Head of the Division of Medicine, and Dr. Sigal Shafran Tikva, Head of the Nursing Innovation Center.

Two companies from the third cycle of the accelerator program raised $5M together since graduating last May. The first, Olive Diagnostics (https://www.olive.earth), is developing a real-time urinalysis system that mounts to any toilet, and is working closely with Prof. Abd Rauf Higazi, Head of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry. The second company, LiteBC (https://litebc.tech), is developing a needle-free blood testing device, and completed a clinical trial led by Dr. Dean Nachman (Cardiology) and Dr. Ram Gelman (Internal Medicine).

Since opening the Hadassah Accelerator program two years ago, 17 companies have graduated, raising more than $24M in that period. The program’s fourth cycle began in August and will be featured in the next newsletter.

Join us for our next conference, to be held at the Hadassah Ein Kerem campus.

“Exploring the Challenges of Preclinical Studies – Academic, Clinical and Industry Collaborations”

Tuesday, Nov. 23^rd at 15:00-18:00

Dr. Sarit Batsir
Dr. Sarit Batsir, VP for Business Development, is responsible for evaluating projects, seeking funding opportunities, and out-licensing Hadasit’s portfolio of pharmaceuticals, life sciences, biotech and molecular diagnostics. Prior to joining Hadasit, Sarit served as the Medical Affairs Manager at Medison Pharma, where she was responsible for women’s cancers therapeutic areas. She gained extensive experience in immuno-oncology as a medical scientific liaison in her previous position with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). She received her PhD in molecular biology from the Weizmann Institute.
Please contact Sarit at Saritba@hadassah.org.il

Masha Zavin, MA
Masha Zavin is Hadasit’s Marketing Manager for R&D Services and boasts more than a decade of experience in project management, business development, marketing and sales in diverse industries.  For six years, she was the Sales & Marketing Manager at iMER Ltd., the international marketing arm of Hadassah Medical Center, promoting its innovative medical services worldwide. Masha holds an MA in private international law from the State University Higher School of Economics, Moscow and graduated from the Hebrew University MBA Biomed program.
Please contact Masha at zavin@hadassah.org.il

Dr. Adriana Folberg-Blum
Dr. Adriana Folberg-Blum, Hadasit Intellectual Property Director, is responsible for managing the IP portfolio of Hadassah and evaluating inventions developed by Hadassah’s employees. Adriana, a certified Israeli patent attorney, holds a PhD from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) and a post-doc at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel). Adriana has over 20 years of hands-on experience in the practice of intellectual property. Most recently she served as the IP Manager at the Tel Hashomer Hospital Technology Transfer Company.
Please contact Adriana at adrianafb@hadassah.org.il