OncoSec Medical (NSDQ:ONCS) announced earlier this week that the company’s co-founder, Punit Dhillon, would step down as CEO and continue to serve as president while Daniel O’Connor takes over the corner office.
O’Connor joined OncoSec’s board of directors in September this year.
“We are pleased to welcome Dan to OncoSec at this important time, and believe he is uniquely qualified to lead the company through the successful completion of its phase IIb registration directed trial, Pisces/Keynote-695 in patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma who have progressed or are progressing on an anti-PD-1 therapy,” chairman Avtar Dhillon said in prepared remarks. “Dan is a proven leader with a strong track record of success and brings exceptional strategic and operational expertise in building thriving, successful biopharma companies.”
“The board and I want to thank Punit Dhillon for the contributions he made to OncoSec which positioned the company for the next stage of growth and shareholder value creation.”
“Dan’s history commercializing and licensing cancer immunotherapy products is vital as we continue to progress our lead melanoma program through clinical trials and registration,” Punit Dhillon added. “I am excited to welcome Dan as OncoSec’s CEO and look forward to working with him to continue to advance the company’s intratumoral cancer immunotherapies.”
O’Connor previously served as president & CEO of Advaxis. During his time as chief executive, the cancer immunotherapy company raised more than $250 million and inked partnerships with companies like Amgen and Merck.
“I am delighted to join Punit and the company at this important time and look forward to guiding the continued development of its strong, intratumoral pipeline,” O’Connor said. “I am eager to work with our board, senior management and the entire organization to execute on our promising future, delivering on the company’s long-standing goal of positively impacting the lives of patients with cancer. I believe ImmunoPulse IL-12 in late-stage melanoma, when used in combination with pembrolizumab, can reshape the tumor microenvironment and converting “cold” tumors to “hot,” potentially improving clinical outcomes in patients predicted to not respond to anti-PD-1 therapy.”
OncoSec’s ImmunoPulse IL-12 electroporation device delivers a sequence of short-duration electrical pulses to increase a cancer cell membrane’s permeability and more efficiently deliver cancer-killing drugs.
GSK taps biotech vet as new R&D head
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) said yesterday that it has named Hal Barron as chief scientific officer & president of R&D. Barron was also appointed as an executive director the company’s board.
He currently works as the head of R&D for Alphabet-funded Calico. Before that, Barron served as EVP, head of global product development and chief medical officer of Roche.
“Scientific innovation must be at the heart of GSK and with the appointment of Hal, we are bringing one of the world’s foremost R&D leaders to the company,” CEO Emma Walmsley said in prepared remarks.
“Hal has exceptional experience and a strong track record of developing significant new medicines from his time at Roche and Genentech; whilst at Calico he has helped build a research organisation that uses cutting-edge technologies in drug discovery and development. He is also very well known for his integrity, for being a clinician who is committed to always doing the best he can for patients and for building exceptional teams.”
“I am honored to have been chosen for this important position especially given the company’s renewed focus on discovering and developing transformational new medicines,” Barron added. “GSK is a company with a rich history of innovation, with many talented scientists who care deeply about translating great science into therapies that make a meaningful difference for patients. I believe there is a significant opportunity to accelerate this effort and am looking forward to joining Emma and the team on this mission.”
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Aerie appoints VP of medical affairs
Aerie Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:AERI) said last month that it named John Maltman as VP of medical affairs.
He previously held positions within Allergan. At Aerie, Maltman will lead the strategic efforts of the company’s medical affairs department, according to Aerie.
The company also reported that Maltman is slated to receive awards totaling 46,500 stock options and 4,000 shares of restricted stock in connection with his new position.
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Pulmatrix names CMO
Pulmatrix (NSDQ:PULM) announced last month that it appointed Dr. James Roach to serve as the company’s chief medical officer effective Nov. 3.
In his role as CMO, Roach will lead the development of Pulmatrix’s inhaled drugs designed for patients with lung diseases like allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and chronic obstructive lung disease.
He most recently held the same position at Veristat.
“We are excited to have Dr. Roach join the Pulmatrix team to oversee and accelerate the clinical development of our pipeline,” CEO Robert Clarke said in prepared remarks. “Dr. Roach is an ideal person for the job, as a board-certified pulmonologist with many years of experience in successfully managing clinical development and operations, as well as medical and regulatory affairs, in a number of biotech and pharma companies.”
“I am very excited to be joining Pulmatrix at a time when its lead compounds emerging from the iSperse platform are so close to entering the clinic,” Roach added. “I look forward to working with the team to advance these innovative therapies that hopefully can make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients suffering from these chronic illnesses.”
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BrainStorm appoints Teva exec as CFO
Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics (NSDQ:BCLI) said last week that it named Eyal Rubin as chief financial officer.
Rubin previously served as VP and head of corporate treasury for Teva Pharmaceuticals.
“We are pleased to have Eyal join the BrainStorm team,” president & CEO Chaim Lebovits said in prepared remarks. “He is the third senior person to join our team in 2017, following the appointments of Dr. Ralph Kern as chief operating officer and chief medical officer, and Mary Kay Turner as vice president of patient advocacy and government affairs. We recently initiated a Phase III clinical program investigating NurOwn in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and we currently anticipate top-line data in 2019. Eyal’s corporate finance experience with large commercial operations, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, will be invaluable to us.”
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