CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cue Biopharma, Inc., (NASDAQ:CUE) a next-generation immunotherapy company developing a novel, proprietary class of biologics engineered to selectively modulate the human immune system to treat cancer, autoimmune and chronic infectious diseases, announced today the addition of Frank Morich, M.D., Ph.D., to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Morich is a pharmaceutical executive with over 35 years of leadership experience in immunology, R&D, commercialization and operations who has helped guide both large pharmaceutical and emerging biotechnology companies.

“Dr. Morich is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive who brings to our Board of Directors a depth of knowledge, experience and strategic insight that will help guide the continued development of our Immuno-STAT™ drug discovery platform,” said Daniel Passeri, M.Sc., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cue Biopharma. "Adding a well-respected industry leader of Frank’s caliber to our Board underscores the promise of our platform to bring highly selective immunotherapeutics to patients that may provide significant therapeutic benefit and reduced side effects.” 

“It is a very exciting time to be joining the Board of Cue Biopharma,” said Dr. Morich. “The Company’s platform has demonstrated the flexibility to produce a robust pipeline of novel immunotherapies focused on oncology, autoimmune diseases and chronic infectious diseases with significant potential advantages and superior differentiation over existing treatments and those in development.”

Dr. Morich currently serves on the board of directors for MorphoSys (since May 2015) and served as a board member for Innate Pharma between 2004-2010, both clinical-stage biotechnology companies specializing in antibody development. Prior to focusing on board work, from 2011 to 2014, Dr. Morich served as Chief Commercial Officer at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company, and from 2010 to 2011, he served as Executive Vice President, International Operations at Takeda. From 2008 to 2010, Dr. Morich served as Chief Executive Officer of NOXXON Pharma AG, a clinical-stage drug development company, and from 2005 to 2007, he served as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Innogenetics N.V., an international in vitro diagnostics company. Prior to that, Dr. Morich held several positions at Bayer, a global pharmaceutical and life sciences company, including member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, Head of Global Product Development and Head of Research and Development. Dr. Morich holds an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Marburg where he specialized in immunology with a focus on monoclonal antibodies. He served as a military physician before moving to the pharmaceutical industry.

About Cue Biopharma
Cue Biopharma is an innovative immunotherapy company developing a novel, proprietary class of biologics engineered to selectively modulate the human immune system to treat a broad range of cancers, autoimmune and chronic infectious diseases. We design biologics to engage and modulate the activity of disease-associated T cells in the patient’s body, with the goal of offering significant therapeutic benefits while potentially minimizing or eliminating unwanted side effects.

We believe our selective biologics allow us to target antigen-specific T cell populations in a variety of indications using a peptide – MHC complex for delivering T cell modulating effectors, such as IL-2. Once a biologic has been optimized, our approach offers the potential for readily exchanging peptides to target different T cell populations and indications using previously-validated drug frameworks developed from the Immuno-STAT^TM (Selective Targeting and Alteration of T cells) platform. This flexibility could truncate the drug selection and development process, moving effective therapeutics from discovery to clinical validation more rapidly and cost-efficiently than current industry standard timelines and costs.

Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, we are led by an experienced management team and scientific and clinical advisory board (SAB/CAB) with deep expertise in the design and clinical development of protein biologics, immunology and immuno-oncology.

For more information, visit www.cuebio.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “project,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely” or other comparable terms. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding anticipated results of our drug development efforts, including study results, our expectations regarding regulatory developments and expected future operating results. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, our limited operating history, limited cash and a history of losses; our ability to achieve profitability; our ability to secure required U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or other governmental approvals for our product candidates and the breadth of any approved indication; negative or inconclusive results from our clinical studies or serious and unexpected drug-related side effects or other safety issues experienced by participants in our clinical trials; delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines including potential delays in submitting required regulatory applications to the FDA; our reliance on licensors, collaborations and strategic alliances; our ability to obtain adequate financing to fund our business operations in the future; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Quarterly Report(s) on Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Investor Contact:
John Woolford
Westwicke Partners
443-213-0506

Media Contact:
Cory Tromblee
Sam Brown Inc.
617-571-7220

Source: Cue Biopharma, Inc.