MiNK Therapeutics hires Dr. Terese C. Hammond to speed up the development of its iNKT pipeline towards pivotal stages
MiNK Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in allogeneic invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapies and precision-targeted immune technologies, has announced the appointment of Dr. Terese C. Hammond as Head of Inflammatory and Pulmonary Diseases.
Dr. Hammond, a quadruple board-certified physician in Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care, Neurocritical Care, and Sleep Medicine, brings extensive experience to the role. She is a nationally recognized leader in pulmonary and critical care medicine and has a proven track record in advancing registration-stage programs in severe pulmonary and inflammatory diseases.
In her new role, Dr. Hammond will lead MiNK's inflammatory and pulmonary disease portfolio. This includes the imminent grant-supported clinical trial in Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD) and the planned late-stage trial in severe pulmonary disease. She will also retain a foothold in the clinic, bringing real-world patient insights to trial execution, study design, and innovation across MiNK's iNKT platform.
One of the key focuses of Dr. Hammond's work will be the company's lead asset, AGENT-797. This off-the-shelf, allogeneic iNKT cell therapy is in clinical development for the treatment of GvHD, solid tumors, and critical pulmonary immune collapse. In clinical trials, AGENT-797 has shown promising results, bolstering peripheral memory T-cell activation, enhancing tumor infiltration, and potentially improving outcomes for patients with solid cancers and reducing inflammation in critically ill patients with severe respiratory pathology.
Dr. Hammond is the lead author of MiNK's landmark Nature Communications publication on MiNK's iNKT cell therapy (AGENT-797) in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The clinical study of AGENT-797 for GvHD is also supported by MiNK Therapeutics, the company manufacturing and developing this allogeneic iNKT cell therapy in Lexington, MA.
MiNK's proprietary platform is designed to restore immune balance and drive cytotoxic immune responses across cancer, immune-mediated diseases, and pulmonary immune failure. The company is also advancing a pipeline of T cell receptor (TCR)-based therapies and neoantigen discovery tools that enable tumor- and tissue-specific immune activation with broad potential application.
AGENT-797 harnesses the dual power of innate and adaptive immunity, combining the cytotoxic capabilities of NK cells with T-cell-like antigen recognition and memory. MiNK's manufacturing process is scalable and cryopreserved, positioning the company to develop next-generation immune reconstitution therapies.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the therapeutic potential, safety, anticipated benefits, development plans, and future potential of iNKT cells and CAR-iNKT therapies, subject to risks and uncertainties.
For more information, visit MiNK Therapeutics or follow MiNK on X @MiNK_iNKT.
