Appointments: Senior Hires At IGM, Cell Medica, Mologen, Navitor, Tenaya, Oncobiologics, Provention Bio And Centrexion
Executive Summary
New CEOs have been appointed at Cell Medica, Mologen, Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Tenaya Therapeutics and Oncobiologics, while a new CMO has been recruited to IGM Biosciences, a vice president of clinical development at Provention Bio and a CFO at Centrexion Therapeutics.
Leading immuno-oncology pioneer, Daniel Chen, has been appointed chief medical officer, a newly created position, at Mountain View, CA-based IGM Biosciences, to lead its clinical development activities. Chen was formerly global head of cancer immunotherapy development at Genentech/Roche. IGM Biosciences, which is evaluating IgM antibodies as therapeutic agents, has also added antibody engineering researcher, William Strohl, to its board of directors.
Cell Medica Ltd., which has offices in London and Houston, has named Chris Nowers as CEO and executive director, following the decision of Gregg Sando to step down. Nowers joins from Kite Pharma, where he was head of Europe, and he previously held senior positions at Avantogen Oncology, Amgen and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Cell Medica is active in the CAR-T space, and is developing NKT cells engineered to express IL-15 in order to retain their anticancer potency in the tumor microenvironment.
The publicly listed Berlin, Germany-based Mologen AG has appointed Ignacio Faus as CEO and a member of its executive board. Faus has 25 years' experience in the life sciences industry, including co-founding Palau Pharma and as a director of several biotech and private equity firms. Mologen is developing DNA-based TLR9-agonists, and its lead immune-oncology agent, lefitolimod, is in a pivotal clinical trial in colorectal cancer.
Navitor Pharmaceuticals Inc., a US biopharma targeting the mTORC1 pathway, has appointed Thomas Hughes as CEO. Hughes is the former CEO of Zafgen, and has been a scientific advisor to Navitor since its seed stage. Former CEO George Vlasuk remains president and will become chief scientific officer. Navitor recently started a Phase I study of its lead candidate, NV-5138, for treatment-resistant depression.
Faraz Ali has joined South San Francisco, CA-based Tenaya Therapeutics Inc. as CEO, having most recently been chief business officer at Regenxbio, and before that was vice president at bluebird bio. Tenaya was founded in 2016 and is a preclinical-stage biotech that has a lead gene therapy program focused on reprogramming cardiac fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes to regenerate heart tissue in heart failure and other cardiomyopathies.
Lawrence Kenyon, Oncobiologics Inc.'s CFO and corporate secretary, has been named president and CEO and has joined the company's board; he will remain CFO until a replacement is appointed to that position. Kenyon was appointed interim CEO in June 2018, having joined Oncobiologics as CFO and secretary in Sept. 2015, and having previously held senior positions at Arno Therapeutics, Tamir Biotechnology and Par Pharmaceutical. Oncobiologics' lead novel MAb candidate, ONS-5010, is expected to enter the clinic in 2018.
Oldwick, NJ-based Provention Bio Inc. has appointed Mark Rigby to the role of vice president, clinical development. Rigby is a leading type 1 diabetes researcher, and Provention Bio is developing a Phase III anti-CD3 Mab, PRV-031, for early onset type 1 diabetes, and a preclinical coxsackievirus B vaccine. Most recently, Rigby was director, immunology early development and translational medicine, for Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Nick Harvey has joined Centrexion Therapeutics Corp. as chief financial officer. Harvey was most recently at Radius Health, where he was CFO and senior vice president, and before that was managing director at the VC firm, Shiprock Capital. Centrexion is developing non-opioid, non-steroidal therapeutics for chronic pain, and its lead candidate, CNTX-4975, is in Phase IIb studies for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain of the knee in humans and dogs. The drug candidate targets the TRPV1 receptor that selectively inactivates the pain nerve fibers transmitting pain signals to the brain and may provide pain relief for up to six months, until the local pain fibers regenerate.