On August 28, 2019 Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONCT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing potential first-in-class product candidates for cancers with critical unmet medical needs, reported the appointment of Frank Hsu, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, and Rajesh Krishnan, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) and Manufacturing (Press release, Oncternal Therapeutics, AUG 28, 2019, View Source [SID1234539115]).
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Dr. Hsu brings to Oncternal extensive experience in cancer drug development, most recently from Immune Design Corporation, where he served as Vice President and Head of Oncology, responsible for development and execution of the company’s clinical programs, supporting preclinical and business efforts. Dr. Krishnan brings a wealth of experience in manufacturing, process development, technology transfer and technical operations, most recently from Dynavax Technologies Corporation, where he served as Vice President, Process Development and Manufacturing Sciences.
"I am very excited to announce these two key executive appointments. Frank Hsu’s arrival reflects the growing importance of clinical drug development at Oncternal," said James Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D., Oncternal’s President and CEO. "We believe that Frank’s wealth of expertise in oncology drug development and regulatory approval, his deep academic oncology background and proven ability to collaborate and lead teams make him an ideal fit for Oncternal as we advance our pipeline of potential first-in-class targeted therapies. Raj Krishnan’s appointment also reflects Oncternal’s commitment to advancing its diverse targeted therapeutic candidates. Raj has extensive experience and a proven track record of innovation and success in cross-functional CMC programs involving biologic and small molecule product candidates. We believe that the addition of these two outstanding professionals to the Oncternal executive team will be instrumental as we continue to advance our lead clinical product candidate, cirmtuzumab, along with our clinical TK216 product candidate and our preclinical ROR1 targeted CAR-T program."
Dr. Hsu stated, "This is an exciting time at Oncternal, with its diversified clinical pipeline targeting emerging cancer biology and multiple indications, including both hematological and solid tumor programs. I look forward to working with the talented individuals at Oncternal to execute the Company’s clinical development programs."
"I am delighted to have the opportunity to bring my extensive experience with process development and manufacturing of both biologic and small molecule product candidates to Oncternal," said Dr. Krishnan.
Dr. Hsu has held positions of increasing responsibility in both biotech and academic settings. From 2013 through 2018, he served as Vice President and Head of Oncology at Immune Design Corporation prior to its acquisition by Merck Co., Inc., where he was responsible for development of several immuno-oncology programs. From 2012 until 2013, Dr. Hsu served as Chief Medical Officer at Zyngenia, Inc., where he was responsible for development of its multivalent protein therapeutics. From 2002 through 2012, he served as Senior Medical Director at Genzyme Corporation prior to its acquisition by Sanofi, S.A. Previously, Dr. Hsu was a faculty member at Yale University, serving as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Oncology and co-Director/Director of the Immunology Research Program of the Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Hsu holds a B.S. degree in biology from Stanford University, and an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School and the Health Science and Technology Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his internship/residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and his oncology training at Stanford University.
Dr. Krishnan has experience across a range of CMC and manufacturing technologies for U.S. and international manufacturing sites, involving both internal and partnered programs. From 2018 until 2019, he served as Vice President, Process Development and Manufacturing Sciences at Dynavax Technologies Corporation, where he led manufacturing, drug process development, process validation and technology transfer efforts for commercial and clinical development programs. From 2012 through 2017, Dr. Krishnan served in several positions at Gilead Sciences, Inc., most recently as Head, Biologics Drug Substance Process Development. Previously, he served in positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc., Amgen Inc. and Pfizer from 2000 through 2012. Dr. Krishnan holds a B.S.E. degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University, an M.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. degree in Biochemical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.