Turn Biotechnologies Sharpens Immunology Focus by Adding Two Cell Therapy Specialists to its Medical Advisory Board

Turn Biotechnologies, a cell rejuvenation company developing novel mRNA medicines for untreatable, age-related conditions, announced the appointment of two preeminent physicians to the company’s Medical Advisory Board.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) specialists Kevin J. Curran, MD, and Joseph Hai Oved, MD, MA, who are both board-certified in oncology and pediatrics, will provide Turn Bio with world-class experience in gene and cell therapy. Their expertise will help Turn Bio expand research and development to use the company’s Epigenetic Reprogramming of Aging (ERA™) technology to increase the efficacy of immunotherapies.

“We are thrilled to have Drs. Curran and Oved as our founding immunology medical advisors,” said Anja Krammer, Turn Bio CEO. “Their clinical pedigrees and expertise will help us achieve life-saving advances in immunotherapy to improve patient outcomes and access to critical cancer treatments.”

Dr. Curran is a highly respected researcher and clinician who has both developed novel therapies and used them in caring for patients. He serves as Immune Effector Cell (IEC) Program Director and currently is the interim co-director of the Cell Therapy and Cell Engineering Facility (CTCEF), MSK’s GMP investigational cell therapy facility. In these roles Dr. Curran develops novel cellular treatments for malignancies affecting children and young adults who do not respond to standard therapies. Dr. Curran specializes in the use of CAR T cell therapy to deliver more effective treatment options for cancer patients and avoid the long-term side effects that often result from conventional treatments. Dr. Curran has been involved with several clinical trials studying CAR T cell therapy and has authored or co-authored 39 research articles and presented to scientific audiences across the United States and around the world. His work has been recognized by such organizations as the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the National Cancer Institute, and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO).

Dr. Oved has focused his significant expertise in the use of stem cell/bone marrow transplantation and cellular/gene therapies to cure non-cancerous diseases at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Oved leads the Primary Immunodeficiency and Immune Dysregulation Program, caring for patients with hard-to-treat immune dysfunctions or inherited immune deficiencies. He has broad clinical expertise with immune deficiencies and dysregulations, bone marrow failure syndromes, and non-malignant blood disorders. Dr. Oved has also done extensive research in search of new ways to personalize transplantation to achieve a precise cure with minimal side effects – and identifying biomarkers to more accurately predict transplant outcomes. He is a member of the International Society of Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Stem Cell Engineering Committee and the only academic physician to also be a member of the Business Development & Finance Committee.