Epitopea Appoints Lisa Butterfield To Its Scientific Advisory Board As It Advances RNA-Based Cancer Programs

Epitopea, a transatlantic cancer immunotherapeutics company developing off-the-shelf, RNA-based treatments for difficult-to-treat solid tumors, has announced the appointment of Lisa Butterfield to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Butterfield is widely recognized as a leader in immuno-oncology, with deep experience in cancer vaccines, immune profiling, biomarker development, and cellular therapies. Her addition comes at an important time for Epitopea as it advances its pipeline of RNA-based cancer immunotherapies, including its lead program, CryptiVax™-1001, designed for high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Lisa Butterfield most recently worked in Discovery Oncology at Merck in South San Francisco, while also serving as an Adjunct Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco. Before her time at Merck, she served as Vice President of Research and Development at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. She also held several academic leadership roles at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was a tenured Professor of Medicine, Surgery, Immunology, and Clinical and Translational Science, as well as Director of the Hillman Cancer Center Immunologic Monitoring and Cellular Products Laboratory.

Over her career, Dr. Butterfield has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters, and she has been a significant contributor to the growth of the immunotherapy field. She was the first woman to serve as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer and previously chaired the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee.

Speaking about her appointment, Dr. Butterfield noted that Epitopea’s work in identifying Cryptigen™ tumor-specific antigens from the dark genome represents a highly innovative direction in cancer immunotherapy. She expressed enthusiasm about helping translate these discoveries into accessible RNA-based immunotherapies that could provide lasting clinical benefit. She added that she looks forward to supporting Epitopea’s scientific strategy as its programs advance toward clinical testing.

Dr. Alan C. Rigby, Chief Executive Officer of Epitopea, emphasized the significance of Dr. Butterfield joining the Scientific Advisory Board. He highlighted her extensive background in tumor immunology, cancer vaccines, and translational immunotherapy, saying that her leadership experience across academia, biotech, and pharmaceutical research will play a crucial role as the company progresses its lead candidate, CryptiVax™-1001, into clinical development.

With Dr. Butterfield’s appointment, Epitopea continues to strengthen its Scientific Advisory Board, further supporting the company’s efforts to advance innovative RNA-based immunotherapies for patients with hard-to-treat solid cancers