VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Concentrates on Cancer Development to Conserve Cash

For its first five years, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals had an unusual setup in which it was based in two places, with a drug development team in Seattle, and the business and administrative operation in San Diego. Now it’s all being merged together in Seattle, as the company looks to conserve cash and concentrate its efforts on doing one thing well—cancer drug development. VentiRx co-founder and longtime executive vice president Rob Hershberg has stepped up to oversee the day-to-day operations as both president and chief medical officer, while fellow co-founder Mike Kamdar has resigned as executive vice president and chief business officer. VentiRx has finished developing its drug candidate for seasonal allergies, and is now shifting all of its efforts to an experimental immune-booster for cancer, Hershberg says. The San Diego office will be shut down at the end of this year, he says.