Madan Jagasia

Chief Executive Officer, Obsidian Therapeutics

Search every verified Madan Jagasia interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Madan Jagasia, chief executive officer of Obsidian Therapeutics, described the company as a clinical-stage biotechnology firm developing a next-generation, regulatable armored tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy for solid tumors. In a May 2024 presentation, he discussed the lead asset OBX-1115, a genetically engineered TIL therapy that pharmacologically regulates membrane-bound IL-15. Jagasia explained that the therapy uses a fusion protein of the DRD and membrane-bound IL-15, which is degraded in the "drug off" state and stabilized by exposure to acetamide, allowing tunable IL-15 expression. He stated that the mechanism of action supports antigen-independent expansion, persistence of TILs, direct tumor killing, and memory TIL formation, and he argued that the potency assay for OBX-1115 may be easier to demonstrate to the FDA compared with unengineered TIL therapies. Jagasia also outlined the company's development strategy, noting a direct path to registration for melanoma and ongoing work in non-small cell lung cancer. He discussed next-generation assets, such as OBX-115, which could combine IL-15 engineering with additional cytokines to modulate the tumor microenvironment, and raised theoretical questions about applying the membrane-bound IL-15 and DRD system to CAR-T or NK-CAR constructs to potentially reduce the need for lymphodepletion. In selected remarks, he highlighted challenges with solid tumors due to diverse, non-shared neoantigens and noted that market research suggests only 20–40% of patients who medically need TIL cell therapy can receive unengineered TIL therapy due to organ function requirements.