Isomab Recruits Pfizer Veteran Bill Sessa to Lead Scientific Advisory Board

Professor Bill Sessa, the Alfred Gilman Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at Yale, joins the company as it advances its first-in-class anti-VEGF-A165b monoclonal antibody, vexobicizumab. Sessa will coordinate a high-profile advisory group featuring vascular biology experts from Harvard, Uppsala University, and the University of Eastern Finland. This assembly of researchers, including Isomab co-founder Professor David Bates, aims to stress-test the company’s preclinical data and mechanistic approach to restoring vascularization in ischaemic disease.

For Isomab CEO Philip Brainin, the appointment signals a shift toward clinical validation. The company is currently finalizing a pivotal biomarker study to support its application for first-in-human dosing. By targeting VEGF-A165b, Isomab seeks to provide a breakthrough for patients suffering from chronic angina who have exhausted standard treatment options. Sessa noted that the therapeutic potential of this pathway stems from two decades of foundational research into the vascular endothelium, a field where he and his colleagues have long been central figures.