March 9, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
NEW YORK – In the wake of setbacks from its Opdivo franchise, Bristol-Myers Squibb has tapped a new chief scientific officer. Thomas J. Lynch was announced as the successor to Francis Cuss, who is retiring, the company said in a statement this morning.
Lynch, 56, will take on his new role on March 16. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Massachusetts General Physicians Organization and a member of the Massachusetts General Hospital Board since 2015. Lynch will step down from his board position on March 15, one day prior to assuming his new role. In 2004, Lynch was part of the team credited with the significant discovery that certain genetic mutations in lung cancer patients caused therapies to work for some individuals and not for others, Bristol-Myers Squibb said in its statement.
From 2009 to 2015, Lynch was director of Yale Cancer Center and was the Richard and Jonathan Sackler Professor of Internal Medicine, Yale Cancer Center at the Yale School of Medicine.
“Throughout my career, I have been devoted to advancing oncology research, with a particular focus on lung cancer. I have seen firsthand Bristol-Myers Squibb’s commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients, and I am honored to lead the company’s R&D program, where lung cancer research is a core area of focus in a highly successful Immuno-Oncology development program… We have a number of significant opportunities and are uniquely positioned to transform cancer care. I am confident that our team will continue to discover and develop innovative medicines that address serious diseases in areas of significant unmet medical need,” Lynch said in a statement.
Lynch joins a company that has been rumored to be a takeover target in part due to the setbacks of Opdivo. In August BMS announced Opdivo failed to meet its endpoints in a Phase III trial as a monotherapy for a “broad patient population” in patients with previously untreated advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The company said the drug failed to meet its endpoints of progression-free survival in patients expressing PD-L1 at 5 percent. In March 2015, Opdivo was approved for treatment of patients with metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Opdivo is an immuno-therapy drug delivered via injection that harnesses the patient’s own immune system to fight cancerous cells. It was the first PD-1 inhibitor to receive regulatory approval. As Opdivo failed, it’s opened a path for the rival drug Keytruda, developed by Merck , to assume a leading position in the treatment of lung cancer.
Following the failure, BMS announced a reorganization plan of its research and development group. The company said its plans includes the implementation of a “more agile R&D organization” and “streamlined operations and realigned manufacturing capabilities that broaden biologics capabilities to reflect current and future portfolio.”
Cuss, 62, said he was honored to have been part of the “talented R&D tea,” at BMS “during a transformative period” for the company. Writing in Endpoints, John Carroll said Cuss has been credited with “running one of the best R&D operations in biopharma.” However, Carroll said the failures of Opdivo has damaged Cuss’ legacy.
BMS leadership anticipates Lynch’s experience in lung cancer to turn things around. BMS Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Caforio said Lynch has a deep well of experience in lung cancer research and is the right person to “lead our dynamic R&D organization as we focus on accelerating the development of our Immuno-Oncology medicines and fully realizing the extraordinary potential of our diverse, innovative pipeline.”
