Immunotherapy company Batu Biologics Inc revealed on Friday the election of Thomas Ichim as its president and chief executive officer.

In the new positions, Dr Ichim replaces the company's outgoing CEO Samuel Wagner, who has moved on to other opportunities.

Dr Ichim will lead the immuno-oncology company in developing the US FDA cleared ValloVax IND, an allogeneic cellular vaccine that specifically programmes the immune system to kill the blood vessels that feed. Its efficacy has been demonstrated in animal models and early clinical safety has been published in a case series.

Previously, Dr Ichim was employed with Medistem, where he successfully took an angiogenesis based cell therapy from concept to exit in the field of angiogenesis inhibition, added the company's chairman Dr Alan Lewis.