BlueSphere Bio Appoints Alan Korman, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer

Seasoned executive brings more than three decades of immunotherapy and drug discovery experience

/EIN News/ -- PITTSBURGH, May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlueSphere Bio, a clinical stage drug development company focused on novel T cell based therapies, today announced the appointment of Alan Korman, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Korman brings extensive immunotherapy drug discovery and research experience, and has served on the BlueSphere Board of Directors since 2020.

“We are honored to have Dr. Korman as our new Chief Scientific Officer. His leadership and esteemed track record pioneering transformational therapies will be instrumental in advancing our pipeline with an increased focus on TCR-based modalities, including bispecifics,” said Keir Loiacono, Esq., Chief Executive Officer of BlueSphere Bio. “Alan’s deep expertise in biologics and drug discovery will further position BlueSphere to ensure we are pursuing novel tumor antigens deployable in next generation treatment modalities. This will include overseeing our current discovery program in dark matter antigens.”

“I am excited to evolve my role and further contribute to BlueSphere’s future. As an original Board member, having observed BSB’s early evolution and entry into clincial development, I am eager to lead its highly capable research team as we build a differentiated pipeline of clinically and commercially relevant assets,” noted Dr. Korman. “As a Board member, I have interacted closely with the Executive Team at BlueSphere and look forward to working alongside them.”

Dr. Korman brings more than 30 years of immunology and drug discovery experience to BlueSphere. Prior to joining BlueSphere, he served as the Senior Vice President of Human Immunology at Vir Biotechnology. Before that, Dr. Korman was the Vice President of Immuno-Oncology Discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Earlier, he worked at Medarex in roles of increasing responsibility through to Vice President of Discovery Research. While at BMS and Medarex, Dr. Korman led the discovery of the immune checkpoint blockade approaches to cancer immune therapy. He directed the preclinical development of Yervoy and Opdivo and their combination, which significantly impacted countless cancer patients’ lives and meaningfully advanced the field of cancer therapy research. Dr. Korman began his career in the pharmaceutical industry at Supragen and NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Director of Immunology.

Dr. Korman received his Ph.D. in Cellular and Developmental Biology from Harvard University, A.M. in Biology from Harvard University and A.B. in Biology from Brandeis University. Following the completion of his education, he was a Fellow at the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, Dr. Korman holds more than 30 patents and most notably, played an instrumental role in the discovery of the first anti-CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor.

About BlueSphere Bio
BlueSphere Bio is a clinical stage drug development company. The Company is the first translational sciences stand-alone company formed by UPMC Enterprises, the innovation, commercialization, and venture capital arm of the Pittsburgh-based health system. BlueSphere’s initial clinical programs focus on deploying TCR T-cell therapies in high-risk leukemias.

The Company’s first clinical asset, BSB-1001, is currently enrolling patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), or myeloid dysplastic syndrome (MDS). BSB-1001 is a TCR T cell therapy targeting the minor histocompatibility antigen-1 (HA-1) and is the first clinical candidate in the Company’s TCX-101 clinical program. Under the TCX-101 clinical program, BSB-1001 is dosed simultaneously with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The Company has also discovered and nominated three additional miHA targeting TCRs for clinical development, all for use in the same clinical setting as BSB-1001. These additional miHA candidates will become part of the TCX-101 Program as a panel that positions the Company with best-in-class HLA coverage in these hematologic indications.

In addition to TCX-101, BlueSphere has further broadened its AML therapy pipeline to address an additional subset of patients by discovering and nominating a lead TCR reactive against mutant NPM-1, a driver mutation in AML, for the TCX-102 program. The TCX-102 program will be autologous and not given in combination with stem cell transplant. An IND is expected in the second quarter of 2025.

BlueSphere was founded upon a proprietary TCR discovery platform that can be used in various clinical settings to discover TCRs for targeting intracellular antigens in either TCR-based cell therapy or in antibody-like molecules, such as bi-specific T cell engagers. While the Company’s initial focus is oncology, the platform could be deployed in other therapeutic areas.

Company Contact:
Kim Jaffe
Chief Business Officer
+1-609-306-7042
kjaffe@bluespherebio.com