After four months of looking, Five Prime Therapeutics has found its new CEO.
After four months of looking, Five Prime Therapeutics has found its new chief executive officer.
This morning, the company said it will promote Chief Operating Officer Aron Knickerbocker to succeed Lewis T. “Rusty” Williams as the next CEO. Knickerbocker will assume his new duties on Jan. 1, 2018, the company said. Williams, who founded Five Prime Therapeutics, announced in June his intention to transition from the C-suite to the role of executive chairman of the company board of directors.
Knickerbocker said he was excited about his new role at Five Prime and looked forward to leading the company as it brings “promising new protein therapies to cancer patients.”
Knickerbocker first joined Five Prime in 2009 to helm the company’s business development programs. During his tenure with the company, he orchestrated several deals with pharma giant Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline, among others.
In 2015, Five Prime secured an immuno-oncology deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb worth $1.74 billion. The deal is for the development and commercialization of Five Prime’s colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) antibody program, including cabiralizumab (FPA008) which is in Phase 1 development for immunology and oncology indications. Earlier this month, Five Prime announced it would present an abstract featuring data from the Phase 1a/1b clinical trial of cabiralizumab and BMS’ Opdivo at the November meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.
Knickerbocker was also instrumental in the five-year developmental partnership deal with GSK. After five years though, the deal with GSK fell apart in March 2016. The companies had been collaborating on the early-stage cancer drug FP-1039, which was being studied for non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Before joining Five Prime, Knickerbocker also served eight years in various roles at Bay Area’s Genentech, including leading its oncology development business.
Williams praised the selection of Knickerbocker as Five Prime’s next CEO.
“Aron’s broad executive abilities have been evident since he joined the company and business development is only one of his many strengths. Aron also brings a deep working knowledge of oncology and cancer immunotherapy, which is essential in this role. He has been instrumental in the design and execution of our corporate strategy--whether it be clinical, operational or financial—which contributed to his promotion to COO. Importantly, through our IPO and beyond, he has remained fully committed to communicating and delivering value for our shareholders through effective pipeline growth and the lucrative collaborations we have established with leading pharmaceutical companies. I am confident in the strength of our programs and in the ability of Aron and the rest of our seasoned management team to successfully execute our clinical and corporate strategy,” Williams said in a statement.
Shares of Five Prime are off by more than 2 percent this morning, trading at $43.86 as of 11:37 a.m.
