Mission Therapeutics Strengthens Senior Leadership Team With The Appointment Of Dr Anne Phelan As Senior Vice President, Head Of Discovery Research

CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mission Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company focused on selectively targeting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) to treat cancer, neurodegenerative and other diseases, announced the appointment of Dr Anne Phelan as Senior Vice President, Head of Discovery Research, effective 20 March 2017.

Dr Phelan has spent over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry and brings with her a wealth of drug discovery experience across a number of therapy areas as well as operational knowledge. She joins Mission from BenevolentAI (formerly Stratified Medical), where she served as VP, Drug Discovery. Previously, she held a number of senior positions within Pfizer including COO and Head of Pharmacology at Pfizer Neusentis in Cambridge UK.

Dr Phelan obtained her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Genetics from the University of Liverpool, and carried out her post-doctoral training at the MRC Institute of Virology in Glasgow.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr Anker Lundemose, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“Anne’s appointment further reinforces our scientific expertise and operational capabilities as we consolidate our DUB discovery platform and focus on identifying novel disease targets and producing next generation compounds. She will play an invaluable role as we continue to build our internal pipeline and prioritise novel therapeutic programmes for pre-clinical and clinical development. We are pleased to welcome Anne to our leadership team.”

Dr Anne Phelan newly appointed SVP, Head of Discovery Research, added: “Mission has rapidly earned a reputation as a leading biotech in the Cambridge, UK area. The Company’s science and unique DUB platform, with applicability across numerous therapeutic areas, is impressive and has significant commercial potential. I am looking forward to working alongside Mission’s highly experienced and ambitious leadership team to advance its programmes beyond the discovery phase.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Mission Therapeutics

Mission Therapeutics, an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative, and other diseases of unmet need. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small-molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Cancer Research UK Laboratories and the University of Cambridge's Jackson Laboratories at the Gurdon Institute, and a leadership team that has broad international, commercial and scientific experience.

In February 2016, the Company completed an $86m financing that was led by Imperial Innovations and Woodford Patient Capital Trust and included participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments and SR One.

Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.