eFFECTOR Appoints Barbara Klencke, M.D., to Board of Directors
November 01 2021 - 3:05PM
eFFECTOR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: EFTR), a leader in the development
of selective translation regulator inhibitors (STRIs) for the
treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of Barbara
Klencke, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Chief Development Officer
at Sierra Oncology, to the company’s board of directors. Concurrent
with Dr. Klencke’s appointment, Larry Lasky, Ph.D., has resigned
from the company’s board of directors.
“Dr. Klencke is a phenomenal leader with an
extensive track record of success in oncology drug development,
from R&D through approval and commercialization,” said Steve
Worland, President and Chief Executive Officer of eFFECTOR. “Her
expertise will be invaluable to eFFECTOR as we expand our clinical
development and operational capabilities. We are thrilled to be
working with her and grateful for the opportunity to benefit from
her insights as we work to providing better outcomes to patients in
need.”
Dr. Worland continued, “I also want to express
my deep gratitude to Dr. Lasky, one of our founding investors, for
his service over nearly a decade. His early belief in our
platform’s potential, as well as his scientific and operational
expertise and guidance over the years, have been invaluable to me
and the company.”
Dr. Klencke has over 28 years of experience in
oncology across strategic roles at biopharmaceutical companies and
leading academic institutions. She currently serves as Chief
Medical Officer and Chief Development Officer of Sierra Oncology, a
late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on delivering targeted
therapies that treat rare forms of cancer. She previously served as
Senior Vice President of Development at Onyx Pharmaceuticals,
before and after its acquisition by Amgen, with responsibility for
the development pipeline including Kyprolis (carfilzomib). Prior to
her position at Onyx, she served as Group Medical Director in
Product Development, Oncology, at Genentech. In this period, she
led a variety of oncology programs including those for Kadcyla
(ado-trastuzumab emtansine), Avastin (bevacizumab), and Tarceva
(erlotinib). Prior to that, Dr. Klencke served as the Medical
Director at Chiron Corporation, a biotechnology company later
acquired by Novartis International AG, and as an assistant
professor of medicine at the University of California, San
Francisco Medical Center. She holds a B.S. from Indiana University
and an M.D. from the University of California, Davis.
“eFFECTOR has made significant progress to date
and in my opinion has all of the makings to set new standards of
patient care through its platform of novel STRI candidates,” said
Dr. Klencke. “I look forward to working with eFFECTOR and its
seasoned board of directors to expand its already broad horizons as
we advance toward the common goal of providing much needed
therapies to cancer patients.”
“I am thrilled to see eFFECTOR continue to
advance as a company, including its recent listing as a publicly
traded company,” said Dr. Lasky, “I look forward to seeing the data
from their Phase 2 clinical programs for tomivosertib and
zotatifin.”
About eFFECTOR TherapeuticseFFECTOR is a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on pioneering the
development of a new class of oncology drugs referred to as STRIs.
eFFECTOR’s STRI product candidates target the eIF4F complex and its
activating kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase interacting
kinase (MNK). The eIF4F complex is a central node where two of the
most frequently mutated signaling pathways in cancer, the PI3K-AKT
and RAS-MEK pathways, converge to activate the translation of
select mRNA into proteins that are frequent culprits in key
disease-driving processes. Each of eFFECTOR’s product candidates is
designed to act on a single protein that drives the expression of
multiple functionally related proteins, including oncoproteins and
immunosuppressive proteins in T cells, that together control tumor
growth, survival and immune evasion. eFFECTOR’s lead product
candidate, tomivosertib, is a MNK inhibitor currently being
evaluated in KICKSTART, a randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled Phase 2b trial of tomivosertib in combination
with pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC). Zotatifin, eFFECTOR’s inhibitor of eIF4A, is
currently being evaluated in Phase 2a expansion cohorts in certain
biomarker-positive solid tumors, including ER+ breast cancer and
KRAS-mutant NSCLC. eFFECTOR has a global collaboration with Pfizer
to develop inhibitors of a third target, eIF4E. In addition to the
company’s oncology focus, zotatifin is being evaluated as a
potential host-directed anti-viral therapy in patients with mild to
moderate COVID-19 in collaboration with the University of
California, San Francisco, under a $5 million grant sponsored by
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Forward-Looking StatementseFFECTOR
cautions you that statements contained in this press release
regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements are based on our current
beliefs and expectations and include, but are not limited to: the
future clinical development of our product candidates, including
the potential that STRI candidates could set a new standard of
patient care; and the potential therapeutic benefits of our product
candidates. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this
press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our
business, including, without limitation: potential delays in the
commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials;
disruption to our operations from the COVID-19 pandemic, including
clinical trial and manufacturing delays; our dependence on third
parties in connection with product manufacturing, research and
preclinical and clinical testing; the results of preclinical
studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of
future results; the success of our clinical trials and preclinical
studies for our product candidates is uncertain; regulatory
developments in the United States and foreign countries; unexpected
adverse side effects or inadequate efficacy of our product
candidates that may limit their development, regulatory approval
and/or commercialization, or may result in recalls or product
liability claims; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual
property protection for our product candidates; we may use our
capital resources sooner than we expect; and other risks described
in our prior filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), including under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most
recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and any subsequent filings
with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date
hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to
reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the
date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995.
Contacts:Investors:Stephanie
CarringtonICR
Westwicke646-277-1282Stephanie.Carrington@westwicke.com
Media:Heidi Chokeir, Ph.D.Canale
Communications619-203-5391heidi.chokeir@canalecomm.com
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