Torque Therapeutics, Inc.

Appointment of John Hohneker, M.D. Resignation of Chidozie Ugwumba PHILADELPHIA, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Carisma Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CARM) ("Carisma" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies, today announced the appointment of John Hohneker, M.D. to the Board of Directors of the Company, effective April 1, 2024. Additionally, the Company announced that Chidozie Ugwumba, who has served on Carisma's Board of Directors since December 2020, has advised the Board of his intent to step down from his role as a member of the Board and chair of the Audit Committee of the Board effective April 1, 2024, as a result of his other professional commitments. "We are pleased to welcome John to the Carisma Board of Directors," said Sanford Zweifach, Chair of the Carisma Board of Directors. "I believe John's extensive track record of clinical development, strategic leadership, and public company Board membership in the biopharmaceutical space will enable him to immediately support the Company as it continues leading the field of engineered macrophage development. We would also like to thank Chidozie for his invaluable advice and guidance since he first joined the Board over three years ago." "I am excited to join Carisma's Board as the Company continues to develop innovative immunotherapies," said Dr. Hohneker. "I am looking forward to partnering with the Board and the management team as they work to potentially bring novel treatments to patients in need across multiple therapeutic areas." Dr. Hohneker brings over 30 years of extensive experience in drug development and leadership across the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. He most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Anokion SA. Prior to this, he held the role of President of Research and Development at FORMA Therapeutics Inc. Before joining FORMA Therapeutics, Dr. Hohneker held roles of increasing responsibility at Novartis AG, including most recently as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Development, Immunology, and Dermatology. Prior to his time at Novartis, Dr. Hohneker held positions of increasing responsibility at Glaxo Wellcome and its legacy company, Burroughs Wellcome. Dr. Hohneker currently serves on the Board of Directors of Curis, Inc., Sonata Therapeutics, Inc., and Trishula Therapeutics, Inc. Previously, Dr. Hohneker has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Torque Therapeutics, Inc., Dimension Therapeutics, Inc., Cygnal Therapeutics, Inc., BioTheryX Inc., Evelo Biosciences, Inc., Humanigen, Inc. and Aravive, Inc. Dr. Hohneker received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Gettysburg College and his M.D. from the Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences (formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Rutgers Medical School). He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine and his fellowship in medical oncology, all at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. About Carisma Carisma Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on utilizing our proprietary macrophage and monocyte cell engineering platform to develop transformative immunotherapies to treat cancer and other serious diseases. We have created a comprehensive, differentiated proprietary cell therapy platform focused on engineered macrophages and monocytes, cells that play a crucial role in both the innate and adaptive immune response. Carisma is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visit . Investors: Shveta Dighe Head of Investor Relations investors@carismatx.com Company Codes: NASDAQ-NMS:CARM

DUBLIN--( BUSINESS WIRE )--The "Europe Fitness Equipment (Cardiovascular & Strength) Market Outlook, 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides an all-round analysis of Europe's fitness equipment market with the historical and forecasted performance of its segments. The Europe fitness equipment market was valued at around USD 3 Billion in 2021 which is anticipated to register CAGR of nearly 5% for 2022-2027. Europe is the second biggest market in the fitness equipment category, which has been majorly driven by higher member penetration in health & fitness clubs. European countries have the trend of larger gyms, and lower prices have attracted several consumers. It has led to increased procurement of quality & premium fitness equipment posed as a major factor market's growth. Moreover, the emergence of the equipment manufacturing companies like Core Health & Fitness, Johnson Health Tech, Exigo, Torque fitness LLC, and others as a leading B2B manufacturing company. Health and fitness clubs the major revenue generator have been very attractive for the investors. Increasing adoption of fitness exercises significantly contributes to the growth of the fitness equipment industry across the European region. The obese population is the major users of cardiovascular equipment for weight management. In addition, increased awareness about fitness and its related health benefits drives the adoption of fitness equipment, especially through gym memberships and in-home equipment sales. Initiatives, such as corporate wellness programs, contribute to the growth of the fitness equipment market. Further, the number of fitness centers at super specialty hospitals have increased due to the supportive government measures to promote health awareness, thereby further supplementing the demand of fitness equipment. The European fitness equipment market has been driven by the revenue generated from the top five economies of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain. Out of which the United Kingdom, Germany & France are the major revenue generator which combines generated around 48% of the revenue for the year 2021. Other than this, Spain, Italy & the rest of Europe have been a considerable contributor to the region's fitness equipment market. Most of the countries in the European nation have been engaged in sports and outdoor fitness which have given rise to the trend of functional, free weight, resistance, cross-fit, etc. forms of cardio plus strength endurance training. Cardiovascular fitness routines are a highly preferred form of training practice in Europe weather in gyms or at home. Attraction towards aerobic exercises along with the growing concern related to obesity has let the consumers move towards cardiovascular fitness. However, strength training has observed attraction from the consumers with the involvement of innovative forms of training like cross fit, body weight. The increase in concern of people about living an overall healthy lifestyle and physical fitness to get relief from disease such as diabetics, heart attacks, fluctuations in blood pressure, arthritis and others have led to increase in demand for different fitness equipment such as strength training equipment which helps an individual to build muscle endurance with strong strength and stamina. Cardiovascular training equipment helps to strengthen the heart and lungs, which helps in minimizing heart diseases, boosting the respiratory system. Fitness monitoring equipment is a wearable device for heart rate monitoring, blood-oxygen monitoring, measuring calorie burn, sleep tracking and others. The wearable devices provide real-time statistics for an individual's body as total calorie burn; heart rate has led to an increase in the fitness equipment market. According to the report, Spain has recorded the fastest growth as the market in the country has been emerging with innovations. Spain has a high population base that is involved in indoor and outdoor fitness routines. Some of the innovations in its business model include specialist clubs or boutiques: small facilities where members pay per visit. The market has been uplifted with the emergence of key domestic low-cost chains such as Altafit, VivaGym, Salter, Yorksfitness, Bodytone, etc. as well as with the leading international operator's Anytime Fitness, Mcfit Global Group, and Basic-Fit. Such emerging facilities and influx of companies in the market will let the fitness equipment market growth of Spain to witness significant rise. Major companies in the market Icon Health & Fitness Inc, Life Fitness, Johnson Health Tech Co. Ltd, Nautilus INC, Technogym S.P.A, Amer Sports Corporation, Core Health & Fitness LLC, Precor Incorporated, Tuntari New Fitness B.V, Exigo, Body Solid Europe, Rough Fitness, SportsArt Fitness, Inc., BFT Fitness Considered in the report Geography: Europe Base year: 2021 Historical year: 2016 Estimated year: 2022 Forecasted year: 2027 Segments covered in the market By Country UK Germany France Italy Spain By Type Cardiovascular Strength By Cardiovascular fitness equipment Treadmill Stationary bike Elliptical trainer Rowing machine Cross Country ski Stair stepper By Strength fitness equipment Dumbbells Weight plates Hydraulic equipment Resistance band & tubes By End-User Commercial Residential For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/z4gfb0

Repertoire Immune Medicines formed last year with research that elucidates the interactions between immune cells and antigens. Though the company’s two most advanced programs were in cancer, it maintained that its technology also held potential applications in autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. On Tuesday, the startup announced $189 million in Series B financing to expand its research on each of those fronts. The research of Repertoire focuses on the immune synapse, which is the interface between antigen-presenting cells and T cells. The basis of the startup’s approach are two proprietary technologies. The first enables it to discover disease causing antigens along with the T cells that recognize them. The second technology is collection of T cells and antigen presenting cells, which the startup uses to prime T cells to hit a target. “In order to create new medicines in this space, you need to be able to figure out and decipher this immune synapse,” CEO John Cox said. “Our platform allows us to do that.” There are already cell therapies available that engineer T cells to hit cancer cells. For example, CAR-T therapies are made by engineering them with a gene for a receptor that helps these immune cells target an antigen on cancer cells. But Cox said that unlike CAR T, the engineering his Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is doing to the cells isn’t genetic. Instead, the company trains T cells to see the cells that they should be targeting. In addition, the company arms the T cells with a cytokine, a signaling protein that stimulates the activity of certain immune cells. Repertoire’s most advanced drug candidate, which carries the cytokine IL-15, is currently in a Phase 1 test in advanced metastatic solid tumors. The company expects that study will report data later this year. A second therapeutic candidate carrying the cytokine IL-12 is on track to begin clinical testing in the middle of this year in solid tumors that are positive for human papillomavirus type 16. The new capital will support Repertoire’s clinical research in cancer. But Cox said that the cash also allows his company to rapidly expand its discovery of antigens and T cell pairs for many other types of diseases. High on the list are T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. Covid-19 is another potential application of Repertoire’s technology. Last year, the company received funding from the Covid-19 High Performance Computing Consortium, a public-private sector effort that uses computing resources to support Covid research. Cox said that Repertoire has been identifying antigens on the virus that have elicited T cell responses, research conducted by taking lung fluid samples from patients. Repertoire has started to present and publish some data from its research on autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Last month, Repertoire published a pre-print showing the ability of the company’s technology to identify T cell receptors and the antigens key to understanding long-term immunity to pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. Cox said Repertoire won’t be developing its Covid own vaccine. Instead, this research could support other companies in their efforts to develop next-generation vaccines.Hhe added that the company’s early data in infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders are starting to draw attention from larger companies. Partnerships with such companies remain a possibility for applying Repertoire’s technology to more diseases. But Cox said the new financing allows his company to work on multiple programs simultaneously and should last well into next year. The new cash will also support manufacturing of Repertoire’s growing pipeline. But unlike many cell therapy developers, the startup isn’t planning on building its own manufacturing plant. Thermo Fisher Scientific handles Repertoire’s manufacturing and Cox said that that dedicated facility can scale with his company’s growth. Repertoire emerged a little more than a year ago as a combination of two Flagship Pioneering-backed startups: Torque Therapeutics and Cogen Immune Medicines. In total, Repertoire has raised more than $350 million to date, a sum that includes the financings of its predecessor companies. The latest financing included new cash from Flagship, its founding investor and main financial backer. Other disclosed investors included Softbank Vision Fund, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the Alaska Permanent Fund, and Invus. While the new capital is a Series B financing, Cox added that it has crossover capability, meaning that the investors could support a Repertoire IPO—if the company chooses to pursue one. Image by Flickr user NIAID via a Creative Commons license