SAN DIEGO, Oct. 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioAtla, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCAB), a global clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumors, today announced that Jay M. Short, Ph.D., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder, has been chosen by The Explorers Club as a recipient of this year’s Lowell Thomas Award. Dr. Short’s award is in recognition of his contribution to science innovation throughout his career.

The Lowell Thomas Award is named after the renowned broadcast journalist, filmmaker and explorer and was first given in 1980 to mark the 75^th anniversary of The Explorers Club, a multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation. This annual Award is given thematically to a group of outstanding explorers to recognize excellence in domains or fields of exploration. Among the many notable recipients of the Award in past years are Carl Sagan, Sir David Attenborough, “Buzz” Aldrin, Sylvia Earle and Sir Edmund Hillary. The theme for the 2023 awards is innovation and Dr. Short is one of three recipients.

Dr. Short is the lead inventor of BioAtla’s CAB platform and Protein-activated Chemical Switches (PaCS)™. BioAtla utilizes the patented CAB platform to develop conditionally active therapeutics including antibodies, as well as potentially other biologics, that can be activated or inactivated under defined physiological conditions. In cancer the unique cell metabolism contributes to a characteristic microenvironment that activates the CAB antibody when it is in close proximity to a tumor, and reversibly inactivates the CAB antibody if it circulates away from the tumor. The CAB antibody is designed to destroy the tumor cell upon binding and not to bind to normal cells thereby improving the treatment’s efficacy. BioAtla utilizes its novel PaCS mechanism to generate CABs that uniquely allow the CAB antibody to bind to its target and attack the tumor cell.

Prior to cofounding BioAtla, Dr. Short was founder and former president of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and cofounder, CEO, President and CTO of Diversa (now BASF), where he led the largest biotechnology IPO up to that time. Dr. Short also served as President of Stratacyte, and Vice President R&D and Operations for Stratagene (now Agilent). He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University and his BA in chemistry with honors at Taylor University and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. He is inventor of more than 500 issued patents which ranked in the top ten for citation frequency in the 2003 and 2004 Patent Scorecard by MIT across all industries. Among the several awards and distinctions Dr. Short has received, in 2006 he was shortlisted by the editors of Nature Biotechnology as a personality making the most significant contribution to the field of biotechnology in the past decade.

About BioAtla^®, Inc.

BioAtla is a global clinical-stage biotechnology company with operations in San Diego, California, and in Beijing, China through our contractual relationship with BioDuro-Sundia, a provider of preclinical development services. Utilizing its proprietary Conditionally Active Biologics (CAB) technology, BioAtla develops novel, reversibly active monoclonal and bispecific antibodies and other protein therapeutic product candidates. CAB product candidates are designed to have more selective targeting, greater efficacy with lower toxicity, and more cost-efficient and predictable manufacturing than traditional antibodies. BioAtla has extensive and worldwide patent coverage for its CAB technology and products with greater than 700 patents filed, more than 400 of which have been issued. Broad patent coverage in all major markets include methods of making, screening and manufacturing CAB product candidates in a wide range of formats and composition of matter coverage for specific products. BioAtla has two first-in-class CAB programs currently in Phase 2 clinical testing, mecbotamab vedotin, BA3011, a novel conditionally active AXL-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (CAB-AXL-ADC), and ozuriftamab vedotin, BA3021, a novel conditionally active ROR2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (CAB-ROR2-ADC). The Phase 1 stage CAB-CTLA-4 antibody, BA3071, is a novel CTLA-4 inhibitor designed to reduce systemic toxicity and potentially enable safer combination therapies with checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 antibody. The company’s first bispecific antibody, BA3182, targets EpCAM prevalent on many adenocarcinomas while engaging human CD3 expressing T cells, is currently in Phase 1 trials to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of BA3182 in advanced adenocarcinoma patients.

To learn more about BioAtla, Inc. visit www.bioatla.com.

Forward-looking statements
Statements in this press release contain "forward-looking statements" that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "will," "may," "should," "estimate," "project," "outlook," "forecast" or other similar words. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others: statements we make regarding our business plans and prospects; whether our clinical trials will support registration; results, conduct, progress and timing of our research and development programs and clinical trials; expectations with respect to enrollment and dosing in our clinical trials, plans regarding future data updates, clinical trials, regulatory meetings and regulatory submissions; the potential regulatory approval path for our product candidates; expectations about the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents; and expected R&D and G&A expenses. Forward-looking statements are based on BioAtla's current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions, many of which are beyond our control, difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, among others: potential delays in clinical and pre-clinical trials due to the global COVID-19 pandemic; other potential adverse impacts due to the global COVID-19 pandemic such as delays in regulatory review, manufacturing and supply chain interruptions, adverse effects on healthcare systems and disruption of the global economy; the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, or regulatory approval dates, as well as the possibility of unfavorable new clinical data and further analyses of existing clinical data; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from the clinical studies or take favorable regulatory actions based on results from the clinical studies; our dependence on the success of our CAB technology platform; our ability to enroll patients in our ongoing and future clinical trials; the success of our current and future collaborations with third parties; our reliance on third parties for the manufacture and supply of our product candidates for clinical trials; our reliance on third parties to conduct our clinical trials and some aspects of our research and preclinical testing; and those other risks and uncertainties described in the section titled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 23, 2023 and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 11, 2023 and August 1, 2023 and our other reports as filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and BioAtla undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Internal Contact:
Richard Waldron
Chief Financial Officer
BioAtla, Inc.
rwaldron@bioatla.com
858.356.8945

External Contact:
Bruce Mackle
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
bmackle@lifesciadvisors.com