Tollys appoints Philippe Goupit as chairman of the board

Lyon, France, February 1, 2021 – Tollys, a biopharmaceutical company developing TL-532, the first synthetic specific agonist of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) cancer immunotherapy, today announces the appointment of Philippe Goupit as chairman of the board of directors. This appointment comes at an important time for Tollys, with the active planning of its next fundraising to support the first phase I clinical trials, which are expected to start in 2022.

Jacques-François Martin, co-founder and former chairman of the board said: “We are thrilled to appoint Philippe Goupit as chairman of the board. His valuable experience and skills will support our ambitions and help strengthen our board of directors at a key stage.”

“I am honored and very excited to take up this position at Tollys at this specific stage in the development of the company. Thanks to the critical milestones already achieved by the co-founders in establishing the preclinical proof-of-concept of TL-532, it has the potential to become a breakthrough therapy in immuno-oncology,” said Philippe Goupit. “The team, lead by Vincent Charlon, Tollys CEO, is excellent and fully capable of meeting the coming challenges within the company.”

In his 35-year career, Philippe worked for several pharmaceutical companies, the latest being Sanofi, where he spent over 20 years; in investor relations, deal-making and strategy roles at the highest global level.

Jacques-Francois Martin, co-founder and former chairman of the board, will remain on the board of directors.

About TL-532

TL-532 is a specific TLR3 agonist with a triple mechanism of action: it induces 1) the death by apoptosis of cancer cells, leading to the release of tumor specific antigens, 2) activation of the immune system to mount a specific T-cell response against the tumor antigens and 3) a tumor microenvironment switch by producing cytokines and chemokines which are unfavorable to tumor development. The result is the immunogenic death of cancer cells and an auto-vaccination preventing the recurrence of cancer.

While the TLR3 receptor is a validated cancer target, TLR3 agonists have yet to reach the market. TL-532 is the first synthetic specific TLR3 agonist with a defined – and patented – double-stranded RNA sequence. As such, TL-532 has the potential to be best-in-class and first-to-market.

About Tollys

Tollys is a biopharmaceutical company focused on innate immunity, particularly on the biology and modulation of the TLR3 receptor. Tollys is pioneering TL-532, a new immunotherapy to treat various types of cancer.

Tollys discovered and patented a family of TLR3 agonists and selected TL-532 as its lead-candidate. TL-532 is a structurally defined double-stranded RNA, produced synthetically and highly specific to the TLR3 receptor. The specificity for the TLR3 receptor and its defined 70 base pair sequence differentiates TL-532 from all other TLR3 agonists tested to date in clinical trials.

Founded in 2015 by senior scientists from the leading European Cancer Research Center in Lyon and the Centre Léon Bérard, Tollys is located in Lyon, France. The company has raised a total of €6M ($6.4M) from private investors and received a grant of €1.5M ($1.8M) from Bpifrance.

www.tollys.fr