On February 19, 2025 Ona Therapeutics ("Ona"), a global biotech company pioneering first-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), reported key leadership appointments to support its rapid growth and pipeline advancement (Press release, Ona Therapeutics, FEB 19, 2025, View Source [SID1234650399]). Dr. Aleix Prat, a global leader in drug and biomarker development, has been appointed Chair of the Advisory Board. Additionally, Dr. Jutta Amersdorffer has joined as Chief Medical Officer and Stéphane Durant des Aulnois as Chief Financial Officer. These appointments come at a pivotal time as Ona accelerates the development of its first-in-class ADC therapeutics, targeting novel tumor-specific markers to eliminate hard-to-treat, resistant cancer cells and advance its pipeline toward clinical development across multiple cancer types.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Specialized in understanding the biology of hard-to-treat cancers and expertise in biotherapeutic discovery, Ona is developing a pipeline of ADCs tailored to exploit the molecular underpinnings of advanced cancer. Ona´s unique strategy is enabled by analyzing scarce real-world patient biopsies to uncover novel therapeutic targets that are fundamental to the particular biology of treatment-refractory advanced cancer. Its lead ADC, ONA-255, has broad potential to treat breast, gastric, and other solid tumors, and is advancing through IND-enabling studies to initiate clinical development by the end of 2025. In parallel, Ona is developing ONA-389, a second ADC that is positioned for the treatment of advanced microsatellite stable (MSS) colon and liver cancers. This promising therapeutic is set to begin IND-enabling studies in the second half of 2025.
Ona has appointed Dr. Aleix Prat, an internationally recognized leader in precision oncology with an outstanding track record in cancer research, biomarker development, and clinical trials, as Chair of the Advisory Board. In collaboration with Ona’s Advisor, Dr. Roger Gomis, he has been instrumental in identifying the target of ONA-255 and functionally validating it, working alongside the expert team at Ona. Their combined efforts have generated critical preclinical data to support the clinical development of ONA-255. This important data which has been exclusively licensed to Ona from FCRB-IDIBAPS, IRB Barcelona, UB and ICREA, bolsters the foundation for ONA-255’s progression. Dr. Prat serves as the Director of the Clínic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center, Professor of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, and is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of REVEAL GENOMICS.
With over 300 peer-reviewed publications and leadership roles in oncology research, clinical trials, and precision medicine initiatives, Dr. Prat has been at the forefront of developing and translating novel therapies and diagnostic tools into clinical practice.
Dr. Jutta Amersdorffer joins as Chief Medical Officer and brings extensive experience in translational medicine, clinical and medical development, and pharmacovigilance for innovative biologics. She previously held multiple managerial and senior clinical roles at Sandoz, MorphoSys, and Otsuka Novel Products. She holds a medical license and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Munich and holds an MBA from the University of Applied Science.
Stéphane Durant des Aulnois has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. With over two decades of experience in finance, business development, investor relations, and private equity, Stéphane brings a wealth of expertise. He spent nine years at Ipsen, first as Vice President and Head of Investor Relations before advancing to CFO of Ipsen Iberia. His career also includes the role of CFO and Head of Alliances & Business Development at Lysogene, a Phase 3 gene therapy company listed on Euronext, roles in private equity at LaSalle Investment Management and Calyon Americas, and as a sell-side research analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. Stéphane simultaneously serves as CFO at Corteria Pharmaceuticals.
He holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics (LSE), an MSc in Management from Paris Dauphine University, and an Executive Leadership degree from Harvard Business School.
Valerie Vanhooren, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Ona Therapeutics, said: "ADCs have transformed cancer treatment; however, the technology has been applied to a limited number of tumor targets. These limitations restrict the number of patients who can benefit from treatments and highlight the critical need to identify new broadly expressed tumor targets. Ona’s tailor-designed ADCs have the potential to define new treatment paradigms and patient populations. With the expansion of our executive team and advisory board, Ona is well-positioned to execute our strategic vision to develop multiple first-in-class ADCs and advance our pipeline into clinical development to improve clinical results across multiple tumor types in patients."
Dr. Aleix Prat, New Chair of the Advisory Board at Ona Therapeutics, commented: "Ona’s cutting-edge technology has the potential to redefine treatments for aggressive and refractory cancers. As a strong advocate for precision oncology, I am committed to driving the development of novel, targeted therapies that improve patient outcomes. I am honored to contribute my expertise to this groundbreaking innovation."