Lewis Banden developed a technology intending to improve the outcomes for malignancy patients, and the world is thankful!

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and even though we all fight with it using all kinds of weapons, the war is far from over!

Killing over 10 million people worldwide every year, cancer is the worst nightmare for many families! Driven by the idea to provide optimism for millions of people fighting this evil disease, Lewis Banden founded a company that creates hope for a life with cancer.

Intensity Therapeutics is a successful biotechnology company that follows its mission to extend the precious lives of all cancer patients. The company is developing patented intratumoral immunotherapy drugs that give positive results in treating cancer issues when injected directly into solid tumors.

Stay with us and learn all about the thorny road Lewis had to go through to deliver the techniques from their discovery to the final phase of approval.

Lewis, a Born Warrior!

Lewis Burden was born in the USA, and since he was a young boy, he appeared to have an interest in helping other people. He enjoyed learning new skills, and he was fond of learning foreign languages, too. These characteristics made Lewis a real knowledge-hungry hyena.

Young Lewis learned that it is better to try and fail than never try at all. He was also aware that an adequate education works like a magic wand and can turn your dreams into reality. So, in 1977, he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in 1981 earned himself a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. A year later, in 1982, Lewis received a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the same university.

In 1991, Lewis decided to enrich his education and went to the University of Pennsylvania and got an MA in International Studies. Being restless and enthusiastic about knowledge, Lewis went to Wharton Business School in France to get an MBA in Entrepreneurship.

Lewis has had a relatively diverse career over his time since college, and he has done various things. With a fresh spirit and open mind, Lewis lived in different countries and made his debut in different industries, aside from health care. He gained experience from each of them, and he was able to use the knowledge from all aspects of his life to arrive at the point of helping and improving the treatment for cancer patients.

In the period between 1993 and 2007, Lewis held the position of Chief Technology Officer, interim CEO, Senior Vice President of Business Development, and Vice President of Manufacturing at Emisphere Technologies. During the next few years, from 2008 to 2012, he was a Chief Executive Officer at Interleukin Genetics, Inc.

Better Try and Fail, Than Not Try at All

At that time, Lewis couldn’t predict that he would come up with a ground-breaking idea to treat cancer. He was focused on becoming an entrepreneur when he found himself at the twilight of options.

Cancer took the lives of some of Lewis’ friends, and he felt like destiny was calling for him. He already had an idea and desire to create innovative technology and was a marvelous chemical engineer. Even though he knew that it was going to be tough for people to recognize the benefits of the product right away, Lewis continued with the dream of his.

Instead of regretting never having tried to fight cancer, Lewis founded Intensity Therapeutics in 2012. He worked hard to deliver a drug and used all his knowledge and experience. In the beginning, Lewis worked at home using the money his family offered him, but later, he worked with other scientists, and together they did tons of research and wrote several studies to prove the efficiency of the product. Lewis was happy that in Series A in June 2016, he raised $10M thanks to the 5 investors who funded Intensity Therapeutics, including SalvaRx Group PLC and Jim Mellon.

Bye-Bye Stubborn Tumors

In less than 5 years, Lewis’ idea and knowledge turned into an effective treatment that has the potential to destroy both the present recognizable tumors and the invisible cell-based micrometastases that may be located anywhere in the body.

The company uses DfuseRxSM platform technology to create original cell-penetrating formulations comprising anti-cancer agents for a specific cancer type. The company’s first product nominee uses verified cytotoxic agents. To be more precise, it contains vinblastine sulfate and cisplatin in combination with the amphiphilic molecule (SHAO) - all in 1 vile. Various clinical studies have proven that Lewis’ Intensity Therapeutics therapies can induce tumor necrosis and treat both uninjected and injected tumors. That is called an abscopal effect. Studies have revealed that about 95% of the active ingredients in the company’s drug stay in the injected tumor.

The innovative drugs went through clinical trials under a Health Canada Clinical Trial Application (CTA) and a U.S. FDA Investigational New Drug (IND).

Successful Years

Thanks to Lewis, over 115 patients took part in 2 clinical trials since 2017 that resulted in satisfactory outcomes. That was more than enough for Lewis and his team of experts, so 2019 was an incredible year for Intensity Therapeutics.

Intensity Therapeutics, led by Lewis, got a reckless track designation from FDA for a top drug for breast cancer, a completely unmet medical need. At the end of 2019, Intensity Therapeutics signed an immense collaboration with Merck, which was an impressive achievement. Lewis and Intensity Therapeutics, together with the National Cancer Institute, published a joint peer evaluation publication.

Lewis was glad that Intensity Therapeutics was selected as one of the most significant cancer organizations by the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer. But, the company didn’t stop here and started a new study with Merck.

2020 was pretty successful for Intensity Therapeutics, too, and Lewis came up with fresh ideas to develop a few formulas that will cover more cancer conditions. 2021 also didn’t fall short in terms of success for the company, also being the year Intesity Therapeutics filled in the forms for IPO.

Intensity Therapeutics, a brand that is developing innovative intratumoral injection therapies for treating cancer expects to raise about $15 million by listing 2.1 million shares whose price will range between $6 and $8.

Intensity Therapeutics had previously planned to offer 1.5 million shares at a price range of $9 to $11. The company will raise the same profit but will command an entire diluted market price of $131 million, which is 28% lower than the original midpoint.

Lewis, in consultation with some of the experts inside and outside the Intensity Therapeutics, decided to offer an additional 321,428 shares of its shared stock for the underwriter. The company trades on NASDAQ Capital Market with the symbol "INTS".

Intensity Therapeutics Future Plans

Founded in 2012 in Westport CT, Intensity Therapeutics is bound to change the existing cancer treatment. With 15 employees, the company has already proven the efficiency of its products, and its team will continue to improve in the future to come. Intensity Therapeutics also has an intention to develop new injecting products for treating all types of cancers, so the company plans to invest its proceeds for these types of projects.

The health market is expanding each year, making space for more new products that will help in treating various cancer problems, and Lewis plans to conduct more scientific studies that will support its technology.

Analysts have shown that the growth of the cancer-treating sector is ready for innovation and increased investments, and Intensity Therapeutics will undoubtedly use it!