– USA, CA – CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTMX) today announced the appointment of a world-renowned expert in cancer research and a global leader in cancer therapy development, Dr. Alan Ashworth, (Ph.D., FRS) to its board of directors.
CytomX Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel class of investigational conditionally activated therapeutics based on its Probody technology platform.
“It is a privilege to welcome Alan to our board,” said CEO and chairman, Dr. Sean McCarthy. “As a highly distinguished cancer researcher with a deep emphasis on translational sciences throughout his career, Alan brings wide-ranging experience to CytomX which will be enormously valuable as we advance our clinical pipeline towards key Phase 2 inflection points and continue to lead the field of protease-activated, conditional antibody therapeutics.”
About Dr. Ashworth
A recognized and accomplished cancer researcher, Dr. Ashworth was a key part of the team that identified the BRCA2 breast cancer susceptibility gene, now commonly used to identify and stratify individuals who are at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. His research also led to the development of poly polymerase inhibitors to exploit the unique sensitivity of BRCA1- and 2-related tumor cells to PARP inhibition using the concept of synthetic lethality.
“It is my pleasure to join CytomX’s board as the Company continues to innovate and advance its broad and diverse pipeline of potential first-in-class product candidates,” said Dr. Ashworth. “I look forward to working with the entire board and the executive team to help advance CytomX’s vision of bringing more effective therapies to cancer patients.”
Dr. Ashworth is president, University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center; SVP for cancer services, UCSF Health; a professor of medicine, division of hematology/oncology, department of medicine; and E. Dixon Heise Distinguished Professor in Oncology. Previously, he was CEO of the Institute of Cancer Research and director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Center in London, U.K.
Dr. Ashworth is an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He has received several scientific prizes and awards, including The European Society of Medical Oncology Lifetime Achievement Award, the David T. Workman Memorial Award of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, the Meyenburg Foundation’s Cancer Research Award, the Basser Global Prize, the Genetics Society Medal, and the Susan G Komen Brinker award.
Dr. Ashworth received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from University College London, U.K., and his B.Sc. in chemistry and biochemistry from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, U.K.
About CytomX Therapeutics
CytomX is a clinical-stage, oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company with a vision of transforming lives with safer, more effective therapies. We are developing a novel class of investigational conditionally activated therapeutics, based on our Probody technology platform, for the treatment of cancer. CytomX has strategic drug discovery and development collaborations with AbbVie, Amgen, Astellas, and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Probody therapeutics are conditionally activated biologics designed to remain inactive until they are activated by proteases in the tumor microenvironment. As a result, Probody therapeutics are intended to bind selectively to tumors and decrease binding to healthy tissue, to minimize toxicity and potentially create safer, more effective therapies. As leaders in the field, our innovative technology is designed to turn previously undruggable targets into druggable targets and to enable more effective combination therapies. CytomX and its partners, comprised of leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, have developed a robust pipeline of potential first-in-class therapeutic candidates against the novel, difficult-to-drug targets and potential best-in-class immunotherapeutic candidates against clinically-validated targets. The CytomX clinical-stage pipeline comprises five assets, four of which are in Phase 2 clinical studies. First-in-class product candidates against previously undruggable targets include a CD166-targeting conditionally activated antibody-drug conjugate wholly owned by CytomX (praluzatamab ravtansine, CX-2009) and a CD71-targeting activated antibody-drug conjugate partnered with AbbVie. CD166 and CD71 are among cancer targets that are considered to be inaccessible to conventional antibody-drug conjugates due to their presence on many healthy tissues. The CytomX clinical-stage pipeline also includes cancer immunotherapeutic candidates against validated targets such as the CTLA-4-targeting Probodies, BMS-986249, and BMS-986288, partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb, and our wholly-owned conditionally activated anti-PD-L1 antibody, pacmilimab.
For more information: https://cytomx.com/
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