On February 14, 2020 Immunomedics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMMU) ("Immunomedics" or the "Company"), a leading biopharmaceutical company in the area of antibody-drug conjugates, reported the appointment of Loretta Itri, M.D. as chief medical officer (CMO)(Press release, Immunomedics, FEB 14, 2020, View Source [SID1234554360]). In her new role, Dr. Itri will lead all research and clinical development, regulatory, and medical affairs activities of the Company. Dr. Itri is a well-established pharmaceutical executive with decades of experience and a strong track record of bringing innovative drugs to market for multiple biopharma organizations.
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"I am thrilled Loretta has agreed to join us as our permanent CMO," remarked Dr. Behzad Aghazadeh, executive chairman. "Loretta has been working with us in overseeing our clinical and regulatory activities since the Spring of 2019. She has been an invaluable member of our leadership team, with important contributions to the refiling of our Biologics License Application for sacituzumab govitecan and accelerating our clinical development programs into new indications. I look forward to working closely with Loretta to invest in and expand our novel and differentiated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform assets for the benefit of cancer patients worldwide."
Dr. Itri commented, "It is my distinct pleasure to formally join Immunomedics as CMO. I have had the great opportunity of managing the Company’s sacituzumab govitecan development activities across multiple indications over the past year. The excitement from key opinion leaders and patients about the drug’s potential clinical benefit has been palpable. Working closely with the FDA, we are hopeful that sacituzumab govitecan will soon be available to patients with triple-negative breast cancer. I am especially looking forward to working closely with the executive management team to expand our clinical development plans across our unique ADC platform to advance therapeutic options across hard-to-treat cancers, including indications such as metastatic urothelial cancer and hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer."
Dr. Loretta Itri was most recently the executive vice president of Global Health Sciences & Regulatory Affairs at The Medicines Company where she oversaw the development and regulatory approval of a variety of products, including the early development of inclisiran, and other cardiovascular drugs and antibiotics. Previously, she was president of Pharmaceutical Development and CMO at Genta, Inc., playing a vital role in the development of diverse therapeutic agents that helped treat conditions such as breast cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Prior to that, Dr. Itri served as senior vice president of Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical Research Institute, where she oversaw the development and approval of a number of therapeutic products, including Procrit, Cladribine, and Tramadol. In addition, she served as senior vice president of Clinical Affairs and CMO for Ortho Biotech Inc., responsible for the hematology, oncology and immunology product lines. Dr. Itri began her career at Hoffmann-La Roche, where she advanced to the position of assistant vice president of Clinical Development in immunology, virology, hematology, and oncology.
Dr. Itri received her M.D. from New York Medical College, completed her medical residency at SUNY-Stony Brook and her fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center where she was an adjunct attending physician for more than 15 years. Dr. Itri has served as a member of the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Counselors in both the Division of Cancer Treatment and the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. She is the author or co-author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and abstracts related to the clinical development of therapeutic agents.