On Friday December 13th, 2024, Biointron marked the end of a milestone year with a spectacular annual year-end networking party at Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse in Boston. Bringing together industry professionals, partners, and clients, the event celebrated Biointron’s achievements and hosted two exciting guest speaker presentations.
This party is dedicated to appreciating new and existing clients for the long-standing support and trust, and to looking forward to further collaborations.
The evening began with a speech by Zha Changchun, the CEO of Biointron, expressing gratitude to all the guests in attendance and conveying his appreciation for the continued support from our partners and industry colleagues over the years.
Lei Shi, PhD, the SVP of R&D at Biointron, then proceeded to introduce the company and two distinguished guest speakers who shared their insights on innovation and collaboration within the biopharma industry:
Kurt Jenkins, PhD, the Senior Director of Biologics at Xilio Therapeutics, held an engaging talk on: “Tumor-Activated, Fc-Enhanced CTLA-4 Antibody XTX101 Demonstrated Potent Tumor-Growth Inhibition and Tumor-Selective Pharmacodynamics In Vivo”
At Xilio, he has led multiple research teams including the XTX101 program, a tumor-activated Fc-engineered anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody now in Phase 2 clinical trials in combination with atezolizumab in collaboration with Roche. His expertise in cell pharmacology and immuno-oncology has contributed to multiple patents and publications, including the successful development of two drug candidates.
Zhen Zhang, PhD, the Director and Head of the Antibody Discovery and Engineering Group at Moderna, presented: “B Cell Sorting Technology for High Fidelity Therapeutic Antibody Discovery”
He is a seasoned antibody engineer and protein chemist, dedicated to the development of therapeutic antibodies addressing unmet medical needs. Zhang pursued postdoctoral research at Columbia University, specializing in structural biology in the laboratory of Prof. Wayne Hendrickson, a legendary pioneer in crystallography. He then joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, contributing to advancements in antibody and vaccine design.
Adding an element of fun and excitement to the evening, a raffle was held with lucky winners walking away with gifts including iPads, AirPods, and JBL bluetooth speakers!
Throughout the dinner, fostering meaningful connections remained at the heart of the event.
As the evening concluded, attendees left with a sense of inspiration and optimism. The event reinforced Biointron’s commitment to driving innovation and building meaningful relationships within the biotech community. With exciting plans already underway for 2025, Biointron is poised to continue making an impact in the antibody landscape.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our Year-End Party. Here’s to another year of breakthroughs, partnerships, and shared success!
