Vincerx Pharma Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board to Advance its Clinical Pipeline
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vincerx Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: VINC), a biopharmaceutical company aspiring to address the unmet medical needs of patients with cancer through paradigm-shifting therapeutics, today announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) composed of world leading academics and industry leaders in cancer research and therapeutics. John C. Byrd, M.D., will serve as Chairman of the SAB.
“The Vincerx team is thrilled to welcome globally recognized key opinion leaders in hematologic malignancies and oncology drug development to our newly formed SAB,” said Ahmed Hamdy M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Vincerx. “Their collective expertise aligns with the advancement of our diversified oncology pipeline and will be critical as we expand our research and development efforts and prepare to launch Phase 1b studies of VIP152, our highly selective and potent CDK9 inhibitor, in Myc-driven hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, as well as relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.”
“I am delighted to join Vincerx’s SAB along with my esteemed colleagues,” said John C. Byrd, M.D., Chairman of the Vincerx Scientific Advisory Board. “Vincerx has a compelling pipeline of potentially transformative oncology therapies and I look forward to working with this team of clinicians, translational researchers, clinical trial experts and oncology pioneers to guide the clinical development and strategy at Vincerx.”
Vincerx’s SAB is comprised of:
John C. Byrd, M.D. - Chairman
Dr. Byrd is an internationally known researcher and clinical specialist in leukemia and other hematologic malignancies at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, where he serves as Senior Advisor for Cancer Experimental Therapeutics. He is a Distinguished University Professor of Medicine and Medicinal Chemistry and holds the D. Warren Brown Chair in Leukemia Research. Dr. Byrd is also the Chief Medical Officer for the Beat AML trial. Dr. Byrd received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. His education continued in hematology and oncology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University before moving to Columbus to join the faculty at Ohio State.
Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, M.D., FASCO, FACP
Dr. Burris serves as President and Chief Medical Officer of Sarah Cannon, as well as the Executive Director, drug development for Sarah Cannon Research Institute. He is an associate of Tennessee Oncology, PLLC, where he practices medical oncology. Dr. Burris completed his undergraduate education at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his medical degree at the University of South Alabama, and his internal medicine residency and oncology fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He also served as the Director of Clinical Research at The Institute for Drug Development of the Cancer Therapy and Research Center and The University of Texas Health Science Center. He attained the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, and among his decorations, he was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster for his service in Operation Joint Endeavor.
Gerard Evan, Ph.D.
Dr. Evan is the Sir William Dunn Professor and Head of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. Prior to Cambridge, he was the Gerson and Barbara Bass Bakar Distinguished Professor of Cancer Research at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Earlier in his career, he was at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories in London and elected to the Royal Society’s Napier Research Professorship. Dr. Evan studied Biochemistry at Oxford, earned his Ph.D. at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, and completed post-doctoral studies in the laboratory of Mike Bishop at UCSF, followed by a return to Cambridge as a research fellow at Downing College. Dr. Evan was elected to EMBO in 1996, the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 1999, the Royal Society in 2004, the European Academy of Sciences in 2006, the European Academy of Cancer Sciences in 2013, and the Academy of the American Association for Cancer Research in 2019.
Ian W. Flinn, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Flinn is an internationally recognized clinical investigator whose research focuses on the development of new therapies for patients with lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This research includes first in human to Phase 3 trials with novel approaches such as immune effector cell therapies, inhibitors of the B cell receptor pathway, and BCL-2 inhibitors amongst others. He is an author of approximately 200 articles in journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Blood. Dr. Flinn joined Tennessee Oncology and Sarah Cannon in 2006 and serves as Director of Lymphoma Research. In his role, he oversees lymphoma research throughout Sarah Cannon and its affiliates. Dr. Flinn also serves as the director for the Sarah Cannon Center for Blood Cancer at Tennessee Oncology.
Andre Goy, M.D., M.S.
Dr. Goy is an internationally renowned clinician and researcher of all types of lymphoma, including Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma including aggressive lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, and HIV-associated lymphoma. As Physician in Chief for Hackensack Meridian Health Oncology Services and Chairman of John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center as well as Founding Chair of Oncology at the Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine, he leads New Jersey’s largest program for research, treatment and management of lymphoma. He is also Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Dr. Goy has trained and/or worked at some of the world’s leading medical institutions, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University Hospitals Group of Paris, and The Pasteur Institute.
Rosa Lapalombella, Ph.D.
Dr. Lapalombella, Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University, has a strong history of translational medical research. Dr. Lapalombella earned her Ph.D. from the University of Bologna, Italy, and subsequently focused on translational research for hematologic cancers, especially leukemia, and conducted her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of John Byrd, M.D. at The Ohio State University. Prior to her current appointment, she completed four years of post-doctoral training, followed by two-year appointments as a Research Scientist with PI status and then served as a Research Assistant Professor. Her two major areas of research interest are epigenetic alterations of cancer cells and development of experimental therapeutics for hematologic disease.
Anthony W. Tolcher, M.D., FRCPS(C), FACP
Dr. Tolcher is CEO and Founder of NEXT OncologyTM, San Antonio and Austin, Texas, a Phase I group that seeks to transform early clinical trials. Dr. Tolcher served as President and Co-Founder of START LLC from 2009-2018, one of the world’s largest Clinical Phase I and early drug development operations in cancer medicine with 5 locations in San Antonio, Texas; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Madrid, Spain; and Shanghai, China. Dr. Tolcher is a medical oncologist who has over 25 years’ experience in early drug development and clinical trials. He is currently the principal investigator on 40 Phase I clinical studies, is a reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, and Annals of Oncology. He has chaired the Developmental Therapeutics Review Committee for the American Association of Clinical Oncology Annual Scientific Program.
About Vincerx Pharma, Inc.
Vincerx Pharma (Vincerx) is a recently formed clinical-stage life sciences company focused on leveraging its extensive development and oncology expertise to advance new therapies intended to address unmet medical needs for the treatment of cancer. Vincerx’s executive team has assembled a management team of biopharmaceutical experts with extensive experience in building and operating organizations that develop and deliver innovative medicines to patients. Vincerx’s current pipeline is derived from an exclusive license agreement with Bayer and includes a clinical-stage and follow-on small molecule drug program and a preclinical stage bioconjugation/next-generation antibody-drug conjugate platform. For more information, please visit www.vincerx.com.
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, expectations and events, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “project,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: Vincerx’s business model, pipeline, strategy, timeline and product candidates. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance or events. Instead, they are based only on current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding future business developments, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control.
Actual results, conditions and events may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results, conditions and events to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: general economic, financial, legal, political and business conditions and changes in domestic and foreign markets; the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; risks associated with preclinical or clinical development conducted prior to Vincerx’s in-licensing; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the business combination with LifeSci Acquisition Corp.; failure to realize the benefits of Vincerx’s license agreement with Bayer; risks related to the rollout of Vincerx’s business and the timing of expected business milestones; changes in the assumptions underlying Vincerx’s expectations regarding its future business or business model; Vincerx’s ability to develop and commercialize product candidates; the availability and uses of capital; the effects of competition on Vincerx’s future business; and the risks and uncertainties set forth in Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the SEC from time to time by Vincerx. Forward -looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Vincerx disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Contacts
Bruce Mackle
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
646-889-1200
bmackle@lifesciadvisors.com
