BERKELEY, Calif. – September 6, 2016 - Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADRO) today announced the appointment of Natalie R. Sacks, M.D., to the position of chief medical officer.
“Dr. Sacks’ clinical background as well as her broad experience in all aspects of product development – from global clinical and regulatory strategy through reimbursement and expansion indications – will be instrumental in guiding our internal and partnered programs,” said Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro. “With multiple immunotherapies from Aduro’s diverse LADD, STING and B-select technology platforms advancing into and through clinical development, it is an ideal time to welcome Natalie to our executive team.”
Prior to joining Aduro, Natalie served as an advisor on development strategy for multiple firms. Previously, she was vice president of Clinical Development at Onyx Pharmaceuticals where she played a key role in the development and approval of Kyprolis® and in business development strategy. Prior to that, she served as vice president of Clinical Research for Exelixis where she directed the development of a portfolio of small molecules, ranging from IND filing to late-stage development, including Cometriq™. Earlier in her career, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Cell Genesys, culminating as vice president of Clinical Development. Cell Genesys was focused on the development of cancer vaccines and engineered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Prior to her tenure in biotechnology, she served in a variety of research and analytical roles at academic institutions and companies including Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical College of Pennsylvania, and ICI-Stuart Pharmaceuticals.
In addition to her industry experience, Dr. Sacks holds an active faculty appointment at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where she is an assistant clinical professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. She received her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, her M.S. in Biostatistics from Harvard University School of Public Health and her B.A. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College.
“I am excited to be joining Aduro, a truly unique company in the immunotherapy field with multiple promising platforms,” said Natalie Sacks, M.D., chief medical officer of Aduro. “The immuno-oncology field is rapidly evolving toward combination regimens and having a number of approaches in our portfolio makes us a strong force in the industry. Having worked with Aduro in a consulting capacity previously, I recognize the potential of our innovative platform technologies to change the landscape of cancer treatment, and I am delighted to be a part of advancing this important work.”
About Aduro
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases. Aduro’s technology platforms, which are designed to harness the body’s natural immune system, are being investigated in cancer indications and have the potential to expand into autoimmune and infectious diseases. Aduro’s LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. This platform is being developed as a treatment for multiple indications, including pancreatic, ovarian, lung and prostate cancers, mesothelioma and glioblastoma. Aduro’s STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular STING receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Aduro’s B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a number of immune modulating assets in research and preclinical development. Aduro is collaborating with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand its products and technology platforms. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com.
