Riad Salem Joins Scientific Advisory Board of TriSalus Life Sciences

TriSalus Life Sciences Inc. has added Riad Salem, M.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Salem is chief of Interventional Radiology, and a professor of Radiology, Surgery, and Medicine in Chicago. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Salem to our SAB. His pioneering work in radiological research and leadership in developing innovative treatments for liver cancer and other malignancies will be invaluable as we further our mission,” TriSalus Life Sciences President/CEO Mary Szela stated. “Dr. Salem led the LEGACY study, demonstrating y90 delivers high response rates and significant improvements in response duration and survival. His dedication to advancing life-prolonging therapies and empowering physicians through data-driven decisions aligns perfectly with our goals. His expertise will be crucial as we advance our Pressure Enabled Drug Delivery (PEDD) technology and nelitolimod, a TLR9 agonist, to enhance outcomes for patients with complex conditions. 

Dr. Salem is renowned for his contributions to image-guided techniques in oncology. He earned his medical degree from McGill University, completed his residency at George Washington University, and accepted a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I am excited to join the TriSalus SAB. Despite recent advances in treatment, there remains a significant need for improved treatments, particularly for complex liver and pancreatic cancer cases,” Dr. Salem commented. “I look forward to working with TriSalus to investigate their immunotherapeutic agent, nelitolimod, and their TriNav drug delivery technology to enhance treatment outcomes for these challenging patient populations.”

PEDD is a delivery approach designed to address the anatomic limitations of arterial infusion for the pancreas. The PEDD approach modulates pressure and flow in a manner that delivers more therapeutic to the tumor and is designed to reduce undesired delivery to normal tissue, bringing the potential to improve patient outcomes. Nelitolimod, the company’s investigational immunotherapeutic candidate, is designed to improve patient outcomes by treating the immunosuppressive environment created by many tumors; this environment can make current immunotherapies ineffective in the liver and pancreas. Patient data generated during Pressure-Enabled Regional Immuno-Oncology (PERIO) clinical trials support the hypothesis that nelitolimod delivered via PEDD may have favorable immune effects within the liver and systemically. The target for nelitolimod, TLR9, is expressed across cancer types and the mechanical barriers addressed by PEDD are commonly present as well. Nelitolimod delivered by PEDD will be studied across several indications in an effort to address immune dysfunction and overcome drug delivery barriers in the liver and pancreas.
 
TriSalus Life Sciences is an oncology focused medical technology business providing disruptive drug delivery technology to improve therapeutics delivery to liver and pancreatic tumors. The company’s platform includes devices that use a proprietary drug delivery technology and a clinical stage investigational immunotherapy. Its two U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared devices use its proprietary PEDD approach to deliver a range of therapeutics: the TriNav Infusion System for hepatic arterial infusion of liver tumors and the Pancreatic Retrograde Venous Infusion System for pancreatic tumors.