BOSTON and ROCKVILLE, Md., May 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSE), a  clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on the discovery and development of next generation therapeutics for cancer, today announced the appointments of Maura Gillison, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Richard Ulevitch, Ph.D., Professor of Immunology and Chairman Emeritus at The Scripps Research Institute, to its Immuno-Oncology Advisory Board.

"We are honored to welcome both Dr. Gillison and Dr. Ulevitch to our Immuno-Oncology Advisory Board, two astounding leaders in the field of oncology and immunology." said John Celebi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sensei Biotherapeutics. "With their addition, we now have seven advisors who bring to the company in-depth domain expertise across discovery, development and real-world patient care. We intentionally formalized our Immuno-Oncology Advisory Board to bring a collective perspective to Sensei's decision-making. We believe this particular advisory board of experts will expand our knowledge and the potential of the ImmunoPhage™ platform and create a network for each advisor to gain insights from their peers in the field."

Dr. Maura Gillison, widely known as an expert in head and neck cancers, molecular epidemiology and virology, is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Included in more than 200 scientific publications, her research expertise has led to developments related to the causation of head and neck cancers from human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and groundbreaking shifts in concepts for risk, diagnosis and therapeutic approaches to treat those cancers. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and also a CPRIT scholar.

Dr. Richard Ulevitch, Professor of Immunology and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Immunology at The Scripps Research Institute brings experience in business development from his involvement in life science investment funds, as well as deep scientific knowledge related to innate immunity. Dr. Ulevitch is currently a Venture Partner Emeritus at 5AM Ventures, which he joined in 2002. Previously, he was affiliated with The Lombard Immunology Fund and Aravis Ventures. Dr. Ulevitch remains active in laboratory research at The Scripps Research Institute, with funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). His research spans over 200 academic publications in innate immunity that include seminal publications describing the discovery of p38 MAP Kinase, the discovery of Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) binding protein, and the biological function of CD14. Dr. Ulevitch's team characterized CD14 as an upstream master regulator of immune response nearly 30 years ago. This discovery led to the development of IC-14, a product candidate being evaluated in the clinic to determine if treatment can decrease the time it takes for people with COVID-19 respiratory disease to recover without the need for long-term hospitalization. Previously, Dr. Ulevitch served as an advisor to the National Institutes of Health, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the American Heart Association and multiple biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

About Sensei Biotherapeutics
Sensei Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and delivery of next generation immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. The company has developed a proprietary bacteriophage-based platform, ImmunoPhage™, that enables the rapid generation of immune activating therapeutic agents that fully engage the immune system. Using the ImmunoPhage™ platform, Sensei is developing a library of ImmunoPhage, called Phortress™, to target multiple tumor-associated antigens to create a personalized, yet off-the-shelf cocktail approach for treating cancer patients. The platform enables efficient, scalable and cost-effective manufacturing to support all of Sensei's clinical programs. The company's most advanced immunotherapy, SNS-301, a first-in-class ImmunoPhage™ targeting the tumor antigen Aspartyl beta Hydroxylase (ASPH), is currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck. Earlier stage programs include SNS-401, an ImmunoPhage™ cocktail for the treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma, and SNS-VISTA, an antibody-based therapeutic targeting an immune checkpoint gene that inhibits anti-tumor immune responses called V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA). For more information, please visit www.senseibio.com, and follow the company on Twitter @SenseiBio and LinkedIn.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "may", "plan", "potential", "will", and similar expressions, and are based on Sensei's current beliefs and expectations. These forward-looking statements include expectations regarding the potential benefits of Sensei's Immuno-Oncology Advisory Board. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially include uncertainties inherent in the conduct of clinical trials, Sensei's reliance on third parties over which it may not always have full control, and other risks and uncertainties that are described in Sensei's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 30, 2021 and Sensei's other Periodic Reports filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information available to Sensei as of the date of this release, and Sensei assumes no obligation to, and does not intend to, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.