iOmx Therapeutics AG (iOmx), a biopharmaceutical company developing cancer therapeutics based on novel immune checkpoint targets, today announced significant changes to the company’s executive management team. Apollon Papadimitriou, Ph.D. was appointed as chief executive officer and Marcus Irsfeld as chief financial officer
| MARTINSRIED, Germany and MUNICH, Oct. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- iOmx Therapeutics AG (iOmx), a biopharmaceutical company developing cancer therapeutics based on novel immune checkpoint targets, today announced significant changes to the company’s executive management team. Apollon Papadimitriou, Ph.D. was appointed as chief executive officer and Marcus Irsfeld as chief financial officer. Co-founder Dr. Nisit Khandelwal continues to serve as head of research and member of the executive management team. Steven St. Peter, M.D., managing director of Vie Ventures and former president and CEO of Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PETX), was elected to chairman of iOmx’ Supervisory Board. Henrijette Richter of Sofinnova has assumed the role of vice chairman of the Supervisory Board. Patrick A. Baeuerle, Ph.D., an executive partner of MPM Capital and a co-founder and scientific advisor of iOmx, has been called as a new member of the Supervisory Board. Additionally, Tony Rosenberg, executive partner at MPM Capital, and Prof. Philipp Beckhove, managing director of Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI) and a co-founder and scientific advisor of iOmx, continue as Supervisory Board members. The build-out of iOmx’ executive management team and Supervisory Board follows recent presentations at CICON 2019, which demonstrated the capabilities of iOTarg™, iOmx’ proprietary, high-throughput genetic screening platform, to discover and validate novel, druggable immune-checkpoint targets. Researchers at iOmx discovered SIK3 kinase as an immune checkpoint in multiple solid tumors and IGSF11 as a novel immune checkpoint in PD-L1-resistant tumors. Based on these discoveries, iOmx has initiated pre-clinical development of proprietary therapeutics that are designed to target SIK3 and IGSF11. “The expansion of our executive management team and Supervisory Board has infused iOmx with an exceptional blend of operational, scientific, financial and investor expertise as the company seeks to advance its novel drug candidates with monotherapy efficacy in multiple solid tumors,” stated Dr. Papadimitriou. “As presented at CICON 2019, we successfully validated SIK3 kinase as an immune checkpoint in multiple solid tumors and IGSF11 as a checkpoint in PD-L1-resistant tumors and initiated respective pre-clinical development activities with our lead compounds.” Dr. Papadimitriou continued, “These accomplishments represent the first steps in a broader strategy to leverage our targets to build a pipeline of novel immunotherapies that address the many cancers that are not responsive to conventional checkpoint inhibitors.” Dr. St. Peter, commented, “Having identified two novel immune checkpoint targets and developed proprietary lead candidates to address each, iOmx has catapulted itself to the forefront of the immune-oncology industry. The new executive team will facilitate the transition from discovery stage to development stage. As iOmx’ newly elected chairman, I am eager to bring my operating experience and, along with Patrick and the other Supervisory Board members, partner with Apollon, Nisit and Marcus to enable iOmx to succeed as a developer of next generation immuno-oncology therapies.” Executive Management Appointments Apollon Papadimitriou, Ph.D. – Chief Executive Officer Before joining iOmx in 2017, Dr. Papadimitriou was Global Head Large Molecule Bioanalytical R&D and Pharmaceutical Sciences Site Head at Roche Innovation Center Munich. During his career at Roche, starting in 1997, Apollon held several leadership positions in Biologics R&D within Pharma Research and Early Development and has been a key contributor to the foundation, build-up and evolution of Roche´s global large molecule research organization and pipeline. Apollon is a biologist by training and earned his PhD in Biochemistry in 1995 from the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Germany. Marcus Irsfeld – Chief Financial Officer Supervisory Board Appointments Steven St. Peter, M.D. – Chairman, Supervisory Board Dr. St. Peter was previously an investment professional at The Carlyle Group, Apax Partners and MPM Capital, and his investment scope included both venture and buyout transactions across the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. Over the past decades, Dr. St. Peter has founded, invested in and/or been involved with several life sciences companies including Align Technologies, Medpointe, ESP Pharma, SkinMedica, Omrix, Pharmathene, Xanodyne, Syndax, EKR Therapeutics, Proteon, Rhythm, Aratana and many others. Previously, Dr. St. Peter was Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. He received a Doctor of Medicine degree from Washington University and completed his residency and fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Chemistry from the University of Kansas. Patrick A. Baeuerle, Ph.D. – Member, Supervisory Board A renowned researcher and innovator, Dr. Baeuerle has published more than 260 publications that were cited more than 70,000 times. His Hirsh-index is 127 and globally ranks him among the top 0.01% of most frequently cited scientists. He holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Munich and performed post-doctoral research with Dr. David Baltimore at the Whitehead Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an Honorary Professor of Immunology of the Medical Faculty at Munich University. About iOmx Therapeutics Contact:
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