Università della Svizzera Italiana

Boston Scientific has announced the appointment of Angelo Auricchio, M.D., Ph. D., as chief medical officer (CMO) of the Rhythm Management business in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Experienced in cardiology and electrophysiology, Dr. Auricchio brings over 30 years experience to this role. In his new position, Dr. Auricchio will join the EMEA Rhythm Management leadership team and be responsible for providing medical leadership and strategic direction to the business in EMEA. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Auricchio to the Boston Scientific team,” said Caroline Bravo, vice president of the Rhythm Management business in EMEA. “His deep clinical expertise, combined with his academic and leadership accomplishments, make him an invaluable asset to our organisation. We are confident that his contributions will significantly enhance our ability to deliver innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes in the EMEA region.” Dr. Auricchio recently served as the deputy head of the Cardiology division and director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Unit at Istituto Cardiocentro Ticino in Lugano, Switzerland. He holds professorships at both the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano and the University Hospital in Magdeburg, Germany, and is co-director of the Centre for Computational Medicine in Cardiology at Università della Svizzera Italiana. As scientific director of the Fondazione Ticino Cuore, Dr. Auricchio is dedicated to increasing public awareness of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and improving survival rates. “I am excited to join Boston Scientific and contribute to the company’s goal of improving patient lives,” said Dr. Angelo Auricchio. “I look forward to leveraging my expertise to advance the field of cardiac rhythm management and contribute to developing innovative solutions for patients in the EMEA region.” Dr. Auricchio has served as past president of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) and as editor-in-chief of both EP Europace – EHJ Arrhythmias & Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Academy.

LUGANO, Switzerland--( BUSINESS WIRE )--With 211 projects submitted , a record number of applications were received for the 2022 Fellowships sponsored by IBSA Foundation for scientific research , marking an important milestone for the tenth anniversary of the programme that rewards young researchers from universities and research institutes around the world. The award ceremony for the 6 winning projects was held today in Lugano, at the IBSA cosmos plant; the six were chosen out of more than two hundred submitted by young researchers and were each granted a scholarship worth €30,000 . The number of applicants was very high, confirming the trend of greater participation by female than male researchers in recent years (61% vs 39%). In addition, participants in the 2022 call came from a total of 29 countries. Projects were received in five scientific fields – dermatology, endocrinology, fertility / urology, pain medicine / orthopedics / rheumatology, and the special category for 2022 dedicated to Healthy Aging. Here are the winners: Laura Yerly , Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hôpital de Beaumont, Lausanne University Hospital Center, 1011 (Switzerland) Project Title: Dissecting the cellular and molecular interactions governing perineural invasion in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma patients to identify novel therapeutic strategies . Camilla Basso , Laboratory for Surgical Translational Research, Department of Surgery, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale and Faculty of Biomedical Science, Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland) Project Title: Fat-infiltrating microbiota: a new player in obesity? Valentina Lorenzi , European Molecular Biology Laboratory - European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Cambridge (UK) Project Title: Unraveling the temporal and spatial dynamics of the developing human reproductive ducts. Francesco De Logu , University of Florence, Department of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Oncology (Italy) Project Title: tArgeted iNhibition of SChwann cell HORmone pAthway in GendEr pain (ANCHORAGE) Marco Fantuz , VIMM Advanced Biomedical Research Foundation; Department of Biology, University of Padua (Italy) Project Title: Can impairments of mitochondria-to-nucleus communication explain age-associated decline of humoral immunity? Julio Aguado , Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology AIBN, The University of Queensland (Australia) Project Title: Pharmacological targeting of SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion and its long-term effect in healthy brain aging. At the award ceremony, the scholarships were presented by Arturo Licenziati, President and CEO of IBSA Group , Silvia Misiti, Director of IBSA Foundation for scientific research , and Luisa Lambertini, Appointed Rector of the Università della Svizzera italiana . “ Supporting cutting-edge research and projects to advance society and open up new avenues of scientific research: this is the goal we aim to achieve by renewing the call for the Fellowship programme every year ” – explains Silvia Misiti, Director of IBSA Foundation – “We have been pursuing this commitment for 10 years now and we will continue to do so, because we believe in the talent of today's young researchers, in helping them become the scientists of tomorrow ”. IBSA Foundation is in fact continuing its commitment to research and young talent and is launching a new call for applications for the 2023 Fellowship programme. The next round of Fellowships will be awarded to 6 innovative and distinctive projects in the scientific fields of dermatology, endocrinology, fertility / urology, pain medicine / orthopaedics / rheumatology, and the 2023 special category of “Healthy Aging/Regenerative Medicine”. Projects dealing with at least one of these areas of research will therefore be accepted in the field of Healthy Aging / Regenerative Medicine. Another aspect that is different this year is the economic value of each scholarship, which has been increased to €32,000. Candidates who intend to apply with their project can submit proposals on the dedicated platform no later than 31 December, 2023. IBSA Foundation for scientific research IBSA Foundation for scientific research was established in 2012 in Lugano. It is the main promoter of IBSA Group's corporate social responsibility activities. IBSA Foundation supports scientific research and promotes dissemination through education, art and science, culture, and health-related activities. Its vision is going beyond treatment, with full awareness of the importance of the benefits of combining treatment paths with participation in cultural activities. Its mission is to promote an authoritative and accessible scientific culture through science dissemination, international science network, and support for research. Among its various initiatives, IBSA Foundation offers high-level forums with internationally renowned speakers and scholarships for basic and clinical research in various fields.

Preclinical data on roginolisib, an oral first-in-class non-ATP competitive allosteric modulator of PI3Kδ, for the potential treatment of solid and hematological tumors GENEVA and AMSTERDAM, March 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- iOnctura, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing breakthrough therapies for patients suffering with cancer, today announces the publication of non-clinical research on roginolisib in the AACR journal Cancer Research Communications. Roginolisib is a first-in-class, non-ATP-competitive, allosteric modulator of PI3Kd which prevents tumor proliferation and breaks immune tolerance in patients with solid and hematological tumors. PI3Kδ inhibition in solid tumors has recently emerged as a novel approach to treating cancer because of its potential in targeting multiple tumor survival pathways. First-generation PI3Kδ inhibitors are used to treat hematological tumors, but safety concerns and limited target selectivity have curbed their clinical usefulness. Safety concerns are even more aggravated in patients with solid malignancies where rapid onset of toxicities have been observed. Conversely, roginolisib has a favorable toxicity profile with less than 5% Grade 3/4 toxicities at the biologically effective dose. Importantly, these toxicities were transient in nature without the need for dose reductions. The research published in Cancer Research Communications reinforces the conclusion that roginolisib inhibits regulatory T cell proliferation while having limited anti-proliferative effects on conventional CD4+ T cells and no effect on CD8+ T cells. This process unveils the tumor to the immune system whilst retaining normal immune function. Importantly, treatment of CD8+ T cells with roginolisib during activation favors the differentiation of memory-like, long-lived CD8+ T cells, known to have increased antitumor capacity. Consistent with first-generation PI3Kd inhibitors, roginolisib inhibits the in vitro growth of lymphoma cells. In contrast to these other PI3Kd inhibitors, roginolisib activity is correlated with the expression levels of PIK3CD, suggesting cancer cell-intrinsic effects of the drug. Professor Francesco Bertoni, Head of the Lymphoma Genomics group at Institute of Oncology Research in Bellinzona, Switzerland, said: "This research differentiates roginolisib from other PI3Kd inhibitors and adds to the growing body of nonclinical and clinical evidence that modulation of PI3Kd through an allosteric non-ATP competitive mechanism can be achieved safely and effectively." The research also highlights roginolisib has immune-modulatory properties that can be exploited in solid tumors. In CT26 colorectal and LLC lung cancer models, roginolisib sensitized the tumors to anti-PD-1 (Programmed cell death protein 1) treatment, with similar activity in the Pan-02 pancreatic and A20 lymphoma syngeneic mouse models. Roginolisib reshaped the balance of tumor infiltrating cells, favoring infiltration of CD8+ and NK cells, while decreasing suppressive immune cells. Roginolisib presented no safety concerns in animal studies, or in Phase I human studies, and is currently in clinical Phase Ib/II investigation in solid and hematological tumors. Catherine Pickering, Chief Executive Officer of iOnctura, said: "We are excited that our ground-breaking research has been published by Cancer Research Communications highlighting the potential of our lead clinical program, roginolisib in both solid and hematological cancers. We anticipate returning this key anti-tumor mechanism to physician's tool-boxes for hematological cancers as well as offering new value for patients with solid tumors." The research was published in the open access peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research Communications, part of the prestigious AACR stable of journals, which aims to accelerate the pace of discovery and stimulate innovation in cancer science, by giving rapid open publication of hypotheses, methods, results, data resources and cutting-edge knowledge. About iOnctura iOnctura is a clinical-stage biotech developing selective cancer therapies against targets that play critical roles in multiple tumor survival pathways such as cellular proliferation; escape from immune detection; and drug resistance. iOnctura's pioneering approach to drug development is expected to offer significant clinical benefits over the traditional approach of targeting a single pathway alone. iOnctura has progressed two therapeutic candidates into mid-stage clinical development: IOA-244 (proposed name roginolisib), a first-in-class allosteric modulator of PI3Kδ; and IOA-289, a highly selective, non-competitive autotaxin (ATX) inhibitor. iOnctura is backed by specialist institutional investors including M Ventures, Inkef Capital, VI Partners, Schroders Capital, and 3B Future Health Fund. iOnctura BV is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands with its wholly owned Swiss subsidiary, iOnctura SA, located in Geneva, Switzerland. About roginolisib Roginolisib is a first-in-class non-ATP competitive, small molecule, allosteric PI3Kδ modulator. Its unique structural and selectivity features drive a unique way of inhibiting PI3Kδ which translates into a highly beneficial tolerability and clinical benefit profile. PI3Kδ over-expression stimulates multiple cancer mechanisms and has an oncogenic role in many tumor types. Roginolisib has a multi-modal effect on cancer; directly preventing cancer cell proliferation, harnessing an anti-tumor immune response via an effect on regulatory T-cells and cytotoxic T cells and potentiating the effect of immunotherapy. Roginolisib is currently in the cohort expansion phase of the DIONE-01 trial, a two-part, first-in-human dose study evaluating roginolisib in advanced cancers and as a combination partner for conventional and immune- therapies (NCT04328844). About Professor Francesco Bertoni Prof. Francesco Bertoni is the head of the Lymphoma Genomics group at Institute of Oncology Research in Bellinzona, Switzerland, the Institute deputy director, and Adjunct Professor at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). Prof. Bertoni's research topics are the development of new anti-lymphoma compounds and lymphoma genomics. He actively participates in the Swiss Cancer Research Group (SAKK), where he is the President of the Project Group Lymphoma and member of the Project Group Developmental Therapeutics. Prof. Bertoni is the author or co-author of over 200 original papers, over 50 editorials or invited reviews, 20 book sections, one edited book and several abstracts at national and international meetings. SOURCE iOnctura