Prothena CEO Dale Schenck Dies From Pancreatic Cancer
Executive Summary
Prothena CEO Dale Schenk, the scientist behind innovative medicines that included bapineuzumab and Tysabri, died from pancreatic cancer on Sept. 30 – less than two years after he revealed his diagnosis.
Prothena Corp. PLC Co-Founder, President and CEO Dale Schenk, a protein immunotherapy pioneer, died on Sept. 30 from pancreatic cancer that he revealed publicly less than two years ago.
Schenk’s death closely followed Prothena’s Sept. 26 announcement that its CEO would take a medical leave of absence to focus full-time on his health, signaling that a recovery might have been possible. Instead, four days later, Chairman Lars Ekman said in a statement from the company that Prothena’s management team and employees “deeply mourn his loss and extend our sympathies to his family.”
Prothena CEO Dale Schenk
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Ekman described Schenk as “a dear friend and colleague” and “an incredibly innovative and creative leader,” who will be remembered for his work in protein immunotherapy that underlies many promising in-development therapies and as “a courageous scientist and business leader with a terrific sense of humor.”
Schenk had an optimistic outlook on his prognosis when he told colleagues and investors about his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer – a notoriously difficult cancer to treat. Even so, he said in December 2014 that his cancer had been caught early enough to remove the tumor, which appeared to be confined to the surgery site. He expected his recovery from surgery and any further treatment to slow him down, but at that time did not relinquish his role as CEO. (Also see "Prothena reveals positive amyloidosis data; CEO's cancer" - Scrip, 4 Dec, 2014.)
Prothena’s board of directors will meet soon to determine a succession plan following Schenk’s death, but the President and CEO roles could shift to Chief Operating Officer Gene Kinney, who took on those duties temporarily when Schenk went on medical leave on Sept. 26.
Scrip spoke with Schenk and Kinney in separate interviews during the 34th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January. The executives provided updates on Prothena’s long-term development programs for therapies that address protein misfolding. (Also see "JPM Parting Shots: Milestones Ahead For Prothena, Sage, Aimmune, UniQure" - Scrip, 16 Feb, 2016.)
The Ireland-headquartered company, which was spun out of Elan Corp. PLC in 2012 after Perrigo Co. PLC acquired Elan, plans to report top-line results in the second quarter of 2017 from its Phase III clinical trial known as VITAL for NEOD001 in the treatment of AL amyloidosis. (Also see "Prothena spins out of Elan" - Scrip, 21 Dec, 2012.) Prothena and partner Roche expect to report top-line results in the fourth quarter of this year from the Phase I trial for PRX002, which targets the protein alpha synuclein in Parkinson’s disease. (Also see "Roche in $600m deal for Parkinson's antibody program" - Scrip, 12 Dec, 2013.)
Its third major drug candidate is PRX003, which is designed to prevent Th17-expressing immune cells from being absorbed by tissue and causing inflammation. PRX003 targets the cellular adhesion molecule CD146, which is expressed on the surface of Th17 cells. Prothena revealed on Sept. 29 that it will develop PRX003 for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis. The company will initiate a Phase II trial based on a mid-2017 interim analysis from an ongoing Phase Ib proof-of-biology study in 56 psoriasis patients.
Before he founded Prothena, Schenk was Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Elan, where he was the lead researcher on Elan’s Alzheimer’s vaccine targeting amyloid-beta. Bapineuzumab, partnered with Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen subsidiary, failed in Phase III. (Also see " Pfizer and partners pull plug on bapineuzumab for Alzheimer's after second Phase III failure " - Scrip, 7 Aug, 2012.) However, Eli Lilly & Co. is awaiting pivotal data from the company’s revived – and recently revised – Phase III program for its amyloid-targeting antibody solanezumab. (Also see "Lilly's Leap Tests Investors' Faith In Solanezumab" - Scrip, 16 Mar, 2016.)
Schenk also was responsible for the development of Elan’s highly successful biologic Tysabri (natalizumab), which is marketed by partner Biogen primarily for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. (Also see " From Tysabri to bapi and back to the drawing board: Dale Schenk speaks " - Scrip, 30 Jan, 2013.)
Upon Schenk’s passing, Ekman said the scientist CEO’s “passion for applying scientific discoveries toward the development of new medicines for untreatable diseases leaves a lasting legacy to science and patients and will continue to inspire us.”