On September 9, 2020 Phosplatin Therapeutics, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on oncology therapeutics, reported the addition to its growing team of Joseph F. O’Donnell, MD, as Interim Chief Medical Officer and Jason Summa in the newly created role of Vice President of Clinical Development (Press release, Phosplatin, SEP 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234564877]).
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"We welcome both Dr. O’Donnell and Jason to our rapidly growing clinical team. As a long-standing member of our Scientific Advisory Board from Phosplatin’s early days, Dr. O’Donnell is uniquely qualified to oversee the strategy, direction and execution of our clinical development program. Jason brings deep knowledge as a biotechnology and pharmaceutical executive with many years of clinical trial experience in a variety of solid tumors, including ten years in the prostate cancer space," said Robert Fallon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Phosplatin Therapeutics. "As Phosplatin continues to advance PT-112 to the next stage of development, having successfully completed our second and third Phase 1 clinical trials earlier this year, the clinical development expertise brought to these roles by both Dr. O’Donnell and Jason will be invaluable in our continued efforts in Phase 2 development of PT-112."
Dr. O’Donnell is a deeply experienced clinical oncologist who began his career at the National Cancer Institute, and after that had a long-standing academic career at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, where he most recently served as the Elizabeth Decamp McInerney Professor of Medicine. He also served for many years as an Associate Dean and Senior Scholar of the C Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Cancer Education, where he also served for years as Editor-in-Chief and the Journal of Palliative Care, as well as being an editorial referee for six journals and grants referee for the National Cancer Institute. He has published more than 100 studies and four books related to oncology and medical education.
Dr. O’Donnell is the recipient of millions of dollars in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, among others. He has served on countless committees, and is a respected lecturer and a member of many professional societies, including the American Association of Cancer Education, the European Association for Cancer Education, and the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper). He graduated with an A.B. in biology summa cum laude from Harvard College and an MD from Harvard Medical School.
"The unique potential of PT-112 has intrigued me from my early involvement with Phosplatin. I am eager to draw on my years of experience in the oncology field to lead the clinical development team to an FDA approval to make this potentially highly impactful therapy available to cancer patients," said Dr. O’Donnell.
Mr. Summa most recently served as Oncology Director and Clinical Project Scientist with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Division of Johnson & Johnson where he was responsible for the clinical program for developing niraparib, a PARP-inhibitor under development in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients with DNA repair defects, including successfully procuring Breakthrough Therapy Designation. Previously he spent nine years with BIND Therapeutics in a variety of clinical roles in the area of oncology, including oversight of the clinical department. He began his career with Alkermes and served in drug development roles with Corixa Corporation and Momenta Pharmaceuticals as well. Mr. Summa has authored more than 15 publications, developed protocols for eight clinical trials and holds a patent for inhalable epinephrine. He is a member of six professional oncology-related organizations.
"I am looking forward to following my passion and offering my experience in oncology clinical trial development to contribute to the commercial availability of this unique therapy, and to working alongside the talented Phosplatin team, with its deep expertise and strategic vision," said Mr. Summa.
The Company’s previous Chief Medical Officer, Jose Jimeno, MD, PhD, has recently taken on new responsibility as VP Global Head, Virology and Inflammation, in a newly created division of PharmaMar (Madrid, Spain) and has become a member of the Phosplatin Therapeutics Scientific Advisory Board in order to continue his involvement with the PT-112 development program.
About PT-112
PT-112 is the first small molecule conjugate of pyrophosphate developed in oncology therapeutics. PT-112 promotes immunogenic cell death (ICD), or the release of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that lead to downstream immune effector cell recruitment in the tumor microenvironment. PT-112 represents a potential best-in-class small molecule inducer of this immunological form of cancer cell death, and is under Phase 2 development. The first-in-human study of PT-112 demonstrated an attractive safety profile and evidence of long-lasting responses among heavily pre-treated patients, and won "Best Poster" at the ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2018 Annual Congress within the Developmental Therapeutics category. The novelty of its pyrophosphate moiety also results in osteotropism, or the propensity of the drug to reach the mineralized bone. This property is of interest in cancer types that originate in bone, or frequently lead to metastatic bone involvement, such as metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The first human clinical results in mCRPC were presented at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium on February 13, 2020.