NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ajax Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company applying computational chemistry and structure-based technologies to develop novel small molecules for hematologic malignancies, today announced the company has expanded its leadership team with the appointment of Christina Riordan, Ph.D., as Vice President of Preclinical Development and the promotion of Craig Masse, Ph.D., to Senior Vice President of Discovery Research.

“We’re excited to welcome Christina to the Ajax team. With a wealth of experience in all aspects of nonclinical development from discovery to INDs as well as NDA preparation, Christina will be instrumental in helping to guide Ajax’s ongoing discovery programs to the clinic,” said Martin Vogelbaum, interim CEO of Ajax.

“Craig has successfully built and managed Ajax’s distributed research organization, including the company’s collaboration with Schrödinger, from the Company’s inception and we look forward to his continued leadership as SVP of Discovery Research,” added Mr. Vogelbaum. Dr. Craig Masse joined Ajax in 2019, and previously served in R&D leadership roles at Nimbus, Concert Pharmaceuticals and Amgen. He is an inventor on over 60 patents and has co-authored more than 65 scientific publications including several book chapters. Dr. Masse earned his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from Boston University and conducted post-doctoral research at Harvard University.

Dr. Christina Riordan joins Ajax from Certara, Inc. where she was Senior Director, Integrated Drug Development for Certara Strategic Consulting and responsible for non-clinical activities including toxicology and safety pharmacology. Dr. Riordan also served as Senior Director, Non-Clinical Safety for Surface Oncology where she developed and directed the overall safety pharmacology and toxicology strategy for all research and development programs. Previously, Dr. Riordan held various positions in both small and large biotech companies guiding drug development programs through numerous INDs and further into the clinic. She started her career as a Principal Research Scientist at Roche Palo Alto and Hoffman La Roche. Dr. Riordan received her Ph.D. in molecular genetics/immunology and infectious disease from the State University of New York at Albany.

About Ajax Therapeutics

Ajax Therapeutics, Inc. is pursuing uniquely selective approaches to develop novel therapies targeting key cytokine signaling pathways that drive hematologic malignancies. By combining the deep cancer and structural biology insights of our founding scientists with the industry’s most advanced computational drug discovery and protein structure platforms from our founding partner, Schrödinger, Inc., we aim to discover and develop more precisely designed therapies to address significant unmet needs for patients with hematologic malignancies. Please find more information at www.ajaxtherapeutics.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210929005015/en/