On March 22, 2021 Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONN) ("Sonnet" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative targeted biologic drugs, reported the appointment of Richard Kenney, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer and Manuel Dafonseca, as Head of Clinical Operations, effective March 22, 2021 (Press release, Sonnet BioTherapeutics, MAR 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234576945]).
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"I am pleased to welcome Richard and Manuel to Sonnet at such an exciting time as we prepare to enter SON-1010, our proprietary fully human Interleukin 12 (IL-12) therapeutic candidate configured with our Fully Human Albumin Binding (FHAB) technology, into the clinic," said Pankaj Mohan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO. "Richard is a seasoned industry leader with a demonstrated track record of overseeing clinical development teams and managing regulatory affairs. Manuel will bring to Sonnet his expertise in clinical operations and project management that comes at an opportune time as we continue to prepare our FHAB platform for its first clinical study."
Dr. Kenney has more than 20 years of experience in translational-stage development of biologics, as well as the commercialization strategy and corporate management of preclinical, clinical-stage and commercialized vaccines and immunotherapies. As President of ClinReg Biologics, he has provided strategic consulting in clinical and regulatory affairs of biologics, medical monitoring and pharmacovigilance in several capacities. Dr. Kenney most recently served as Chief Development Officer at X-VAX Technology and previously held Chief Medical Officer roles at Immune Design and Crucell Holland, where he led the clinical development and regulatory affairs groups. Dr. Kenney was a researcher/reviewer for the FDA for over six years and did post-graduate training at Duke and NIH. Dr. Kenney received a B.S. in Chemistry from George Washington University and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
"I am thrilled to join Sonnet to continue to build upon the important work of the team," commented Dr. Kenney. "I believe the FHAB platform has the potential to address difficult-to-treat solid tumors in broad cancer populations and at various stages of the disease. I look forward to applying my skillset as we advance our FHAB programs, as well as the low-dose IL-6 programs, through the clinic."
Mr. Dafonseca has over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical development, ranging from discovery stage programs to post approval activities. Most recently he served as Director of Global Clinical Trial Operations – Oncology at Merck where he was responsible for the successful execution, enrollment and quality of his assigned portfolio within the company’s oncology portfolio. Prior to his time at Merck, Mr. Dafonseca served as the Director of Clinical Operations at Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, where he led the North America clinical operations group, including the strategic planning, execution and management of Dysport and Somatuline to support global regulatory submissions. Mr. Dafonseca received his B.S in Medical Technology and M.S. in Zoology and Physiology from Rutgers University.
"This is a dynamic time for Sonnet’s FHAB platform, as the Company prepares its lead candidates for the clinic, and I am excited to be joining the team," stated Manuel Dafonseca. "The recent non-human primate (NHP) data is very encouraging and I look forward to applying my experiences in clinical trial management, from early stage to pre-approval activities, to bring Sonnet’s innovative treatments to cancer patients."