Helix Biopharma Corp. Appoints Gabrielle M Siegers as the Head of Research & Development
Toronto, Ontario – TheNewswire – September 1, 2022 – Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX:HBP) (“Helix” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is developing unique therapies in the field of immuno-oncology based on its proprietary technology platform DOS47, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Gabrielle M Siegers, MA, Ph.D., as the Head of R&D based out of the Company’s lab in Edmonton.
Dr. Siegers comes to Helix from IN8bio, a US biotech company developing Gamma Delta T Cell immunotherapies for cancer, where she served as Senior Scientist/Gamma Delta T Cell Specialist. Prior to this, Dr. Siegers was a Research Associate with the Department of Experimental Oncology at the University of Alberta following postdoctoral studies in Dr. Lynne-Marie Postovit’s laboratory, where she studied how the tumour microenvironment impacts immune cell function. Prior to this, Dr. Siegers was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Paula Foster, a world-renowned cellular MRI expert at Robarts Research Institute, where she continued research begun in the Translational Cell Therapy Program with Dr. Armand Keating at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Gabrielle Siegers as a key addition to the team. We are confident that she will lead our R&D team toward success and help them to make significant breakthroughs in the field of immune oncology”, said Artur Gabor, Helix’s Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Siegers stated, "I am delighted to join Helix in this exciting capacity, to put my knowledge and skills toward further development of Helix’s promising new cancer therapies for patients."
Gabrielle Siegers Bio
Gabrielle M. Siegers (HBSc Guelph, MA Queen’s) obtained her PhD in Molecular Immunology at the Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology and the University of Freiburg, Germany. Ms. Siegers returned to Canada to conduct postdoctoral research at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Robarts Research Institute and Western University, and then worked as a Research Associate at the University of Alberta. In 2021, she became an independent scientific consultant and then signed on full time with IN8bio, dividing time between her home office in Edmonton and the lab in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. In August 2022, Ms. Siegers began a new role in Edmonton as Head of R&D for Helix BioPharma. She has published several original research articles, reviews and book chapters with international and cross-disciplinary collaborators (currently 32 publications on PubMed), and she has given invited talks at national and international meetings in Canada, the United States and Germany.
Helix BioPharma Corp. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing unique therapies in the field of immune-oncology for the prevention and treatment of cancer, based on the proprietary technology platform DOS47. Helix is listed on the TSX under the symbol “HBP.”
For more information, please contact:
Helix BioPharma Corp.
Suite 2704, 401 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2Y4
Tel: 905-841-2300
Namrata Malhotra, Corporate Secretary
Forward-Looking Statements and Risks and Uncertainties
This news release contains forward-looking statements and information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements and information that are not historical facts but instead include financial projections and estimates, statements regarding plans, goals, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to the Company’s future business, operations, research and development, including the Company’s activities relating to DOS47, and statements regarding expected improvements to the Company’s independence, diversification and corporate governance and the Company’s expectations regarding strengthening its future growth capabilities. Forward-looking statements can further be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “ongoing”, “estimates”, “expects”, or the negative thereof or any other variations thereon or comparable terminology referring to future events or results, or that events or conditions “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved, or comparable terminology referring to future events or results.
Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that are also uncertain. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward- looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements, including financial outlooks, are intended to provide information about management’s current plans and expectations regarding future operations, including without limitation, future financing requirements, and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Certain material factors, estimates or assumptions have been applied in making forward-looking statements in this news release.
The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including without limitation; the risk that the Company’s assumptions may prove to be incorrect; the risk that additional financing may not be obtainable in a timely manner, or at all, and that clinical trials may not commence or complete within anticipated timelines or the anticipated budget or may fail; third party suppliers of necessary services or of drug product and other materials may fail to perform or be unwilling or unable to supply the Company, which could cause delay or cancellation of the Company’s research and development activities; necessary regulatory approvals may not be granted or may be withdrawn; the Company may not be able to secure necessary strategic partner support; general economic conditions, intellectual property and insurance risks; changes in business strategy or plans; and other risks and uncertainties referred to elsewhere in this news release, any of which could cause actual results to vary materially from current results or the Company’s anticipated future results. Certain of these risks and uncertainties, and others affecting the Company, are more fully described in the Company’s annual management’s discussion and analysis for the year ended July 31, 2021 under the heading “Risks and Uncertainties” and Helix’s Annual Information Form, in particular under the headings “Forward-looking Statements” and “Risk Factors”, and other reports filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com from time to time. Forward-looking statements and information are based on the beliefs, assumptions, opinions and expectations of Helix’s management on the date of this new release, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement or information should those beliefs, assumptions, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances change, except as required by law.