CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Genocea Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNCA), a biopharmaceutical company developing T cell-directed vaccines and immunotherapies, is delighted to congratulate Dr. George R. Siber, board member and chair of Genocea’s scientific advisory boards, on being awarded the 2016 Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal Award by the Sabin Vaccine Institute. The award recognizes his research contributions in the development of innovative vaccines, including the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, the first meningococcal conjugate vaccine and the first antibody for the prevention of RSV infections. He was also involved in development of the first rotavirus vaccine and live attenuated influenza vaccine. This prestigious honor — the highest scientific honor granted by the Sabin Vaccine Institute and one of the most important in the field of vaccinology — is awarded annually to a distinguished member of the public health community who has pioneered work in vaccinology or a complementary field.
“We have been fortunate over the years to benefit from George’s leadership and expertise, and congratulate him on this very well deserved honor,” commented Chip Clark, president and chief executive officer of Genocea. “The impact on humanity of the vaccines he has helped to develop has been profound and his contributions to the scientific community and to the body of knowledge about vaccine development will continue to have a positive impact on the lives of millions of patients.”
Dr. Siber was honored by the Sabin Vaccine Institute at the 2016 Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal Award Ceremony on Tuesday, April 19 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore, M.D.
Dr. Siber has worked for more than 30 years in the research and development of vaccines, therapeutic antibodies and diagnostic agents for infectious diseases. He has served on numerous U.S. government and international advisory committees, including the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, PATH, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Commission, the Korean FDA and the Advisory Committee of the Canadian Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise. Dr. Siber also serves on the Board of Trustees of the International Vaccine Institute.
About Genocea Biosciences, Inc.
Genocea is harnessing the power of T cell immunity to develop life-changing vaccines and immunotherapies. T cells are increasingly recognized as a critical element of protective immune responses to a wide range of diseases, but traditional discovery methods have proven unable to identify the targets of such protective immunity. Using ATLAS, its proprietary technology platform, Genocea identifies these targets to potentially enable the rapid development of medicines to address critical patient needs. Genocea’s pipeline of novel clinical stage T cell-enabled product candidates includes GEN-003 for genital herpes, GEN-004 for the prevention of infection by all serotypes of pneumococcus (development suspended), and earlier-stage programs in chlamydia, genital herpes prophylaxis, malaria and cancer immunotherapy. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.genocea.com.
CONTACT: For media: Liz Bryan Spectrum Science Communications, Inc. O: 202-955-6222 lbryan@spectrumscience.com For investors: Jonathan Poole Genocea Biosciences, Inc. O: 617-876-8191 jonathan.poole@genocea.com
