CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrimack
Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: MACK), a clinical-stage oncology
company focused on biomarker-defined cancers, today announced
the formation of a new Scientific Advisory Board (SAB),
comprised of world-renowned experts in precision oncology,
including expertise in biomarker-defined cancers, bioengineering,
drug discovery and clinical development. The SAB will work closely
with Merrimack's senior management team to advance the company's
robust pipeline of targeted cancer therapies.
"We are thrilled to have recruited such a distinguished group of
experts to our scientific advisory board," said Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO
of Merrimack. "The SAB, and the strategic guidance they provide,
will be an invaluable resource for Merrimack and we look forward to
drawing on their expertise as we advance our novel precision
therapeutics in biomarker-defined cancers."
The members of the Merrimack SAB are:
- Peter Blume-Jensen, M.D., Ph.D.,
is Chief Scientific Officer at XTuit Pharmaceuticals. He has
extensive expertise in personalized oncology therapeutics and
drug-tailored, efficacy-predictive biomarker discovery and
development. Dr. Blume-Jensen has helped launch, lead, in-license
and acquire novel oncology drug development programs at EMD Serono,
Merck & Co. and Daiichi Sankyo. Prior to joining XTuit, he
served as Chief Scientific Officer at Metamark Genetics where he
led the establishment and launch of a novel, automated intact
tissue protein-based prostate cancer test, ProMark, included under
NCCN Guidelines. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of
Veritas Genetics and is a co-founder and Board member of
OncoSignature.
- George Demetri, M.D., is the
Senior Vice President for Experimental Therapeutics and Director of
the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, as well as Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he also serves as
Co-Director of the Ludwig Center at Harvard. Dr. Demetri's research and clinical
interests are centered on mechanism-based drug development for
solid tumors, and he has contributed to the development of numerous
approved therapies, including Gleevec (imatinib), Sutent
(sunitinib), Stivarga (regorafenib), Zelboraf (vemurafenib),
Votrient (pazopanib) and Yondelis (trabectedin), as well as other
therapies in development. He serves on Merrimack's Board of
Directors, as well as on the Board of Directors and Scientific
Advisory Board of Blueprint Medicines.
- Douglas A. Lauffenburger, Ph.D.,
is the Ford Professor of Bioengineering at MIT, where he also serves as head of the department
of biological engineering. Dr. Lauffenburger's research interests
focus on an engineering systems analysis approach to understanding
and treating complex disease. He has served on scientific advisory
boards for Applied BioMath, Complete Genomics, Astra-Zeneca,
CellPro, Entelos, Insert Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson and
Pfizer, and on the advisory committee to the National Institute of
General Medical Sciences.
- Peter Sorger, Ph.D., is the Otto
Krayer Professor of Systems Biology and head of the Program in
Therapeutic Science (HiTS) at Harvard Medical
School. He also serves as director of its Laboratory of
Systems Pharmacology. Dr. Sorger's research focuses on the signal
transduction networks controlling cell proliferation and death,
dysregulation of these networks in cancer and inflammatory diseases
and mechanisms of action of therapeutic drugs that target signaling
proteins. His group uses a combination of mathematical and
experimental ("systems biology") approaches to construct and test
computational models of drug response and resistance. Sorger was a
co-founder of the MIT systems biology
program and Glencoe Software and one of the original academic
founders of Merrimack.
- Josep Tabernero, M.D., Ph.D., is
head of medical oncology at Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital,
director of Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), and head of
research innovation for the Catalonian Cancer Centers Network. He
specializes in the development of molecular therapies targeting
specific oncoproteins and accelerating more effective personalized
cancer medicines for patients displaying genetic lesions or pathway
disregulation. He is a member of the European Society for Medical
Oncology (ESMO), the American Association for Cancer Research
(AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
About Merrimack
Merrimack is a biopharmaceutical company based
in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is outthinking cancer to
ensure that patients and their families live fulfilling lives. Its
mission is to transform cancer care through the smart design and
development of targeted solutions based on a deep understanding of
cancer pathways and biological markers. All of Merrimack's
development programs, including four clinical studies and six
candidates in preclinical development, fit into its strategy of 1)
understanding the biological problems it is trying to solve, 2)
designing specific solutions and 3) developing those solutions for
biomarker-selected patients. This three-pronged strategy seeks to
ensure optimal patient outcomes. For more information, please visit
Merrimack's website at www.merrimack.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about future expectations,
plans and prospects for Merrimack constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Actual results may differ
materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements.
Merrimack anticipates that subsequent events and developments will
cause its views to change. However, while Merrimack may elect to
update these forward-looking statements at some point in the
future, Merrimack specifically disclaims any obligation to do
so.
Contact:
Geoffrey Grande, CFA
617-441-7602
ggrande@merrimack.com
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SOURCE Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.