Company Intends to Initiate First-in-Human Clinical Trials in Cancer Next Year
WILMINGTON, DE – Cairn Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing new, highly targeted medications for the treatment of oncology, today announced the formation of their new management team and the election of a new Board of Directors.
New Management Team
Leading Cairn is W. Scott Evangelista, CEO and chief financial officer. Evangelista previously served as Executive Chairman at Cairn, and in his new role as CEO will direct the company’s strategy, fundraising and stakeholder management.
“Cairn has completed the required IND enabling tox studies to complete our IND. These were supportive of an already impressive set of data from both in vitro analysis and in vivo animal studies, and we are preparing for a Phase I trial next year to assess the safety in humans,” said Evangelista. “We’ve assembled an outstanding management team that I am confident will enable us to meet our aggressive development milestones.”
Joining the management team is Thomas Fritz, Chief Operating Officer. Fritz had previously led the company’s drug development efforts and has been instrumental in finalizing the nonclinical studies required for filing an Investigational New Drug Application (IND). Fritz brings unparalleled experience at early-stage companies, having spent his entire career in the space. Rounding out the management team are Sutton T. Faller, Chief Administrative Officer, and Roger A. Rajewski, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor, both of whom bring significant industry and leadership experience.
New Board of Directors
“I am also excited to announce our newly elected Board of Directors which includes, in addition to myself, Roger Newton and Wes Wheeler,” Evangelista continued. “These impressive individuals have extensive experience leading businesses in the pharmaceutical industry and have already provided us valuable guidance.”
Cairn’s Board of Directors now includes:
Roger Newton, Ph.D. (Chairman) Roger co-discovered and was the product champion of Lipitor®, one of the most prescribed cholesterol-reducing drugs in the world. Newton has founded numerous pharmaceutical companies including Esperion Therapeutics which he sold to Pfizer for $1.3B in 2004. Four years later, Newton acquired the patent estates of two Esperion products and launched the “new” Esperion after raising funds from four venture capital firms. Following two FDA approvals, Esperion recently published results of the CLEAR study of nearly 14,000 patients (50% women, 50% men) which showed that NEXLETOL significantly reduced risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients intolerant of statins. Newton is also co-founder and Board Chair of Esperovax Therapeutics and co-founder, Board Chair, and President at Espervita Therapeutics.
Wes Wheeler (Director) Recently retired from UPS as President of their $10B Healthcare division, Wheeler has been CEO of DSM and Patheon (now ThermoFisher companies), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (now Bausch Health), and Marken LLP (now a UPS company). Wes was a key member of Operation Warp Speed throughout the Covid pandemic, and currently serves on the Boards of BioTouch and Envirotainer.
Scott Evangelista (Director, CEO). Having previously served as Chairman of Cairn, Evangelista brings over 30 years of pharmaceutical leadership experience to Cairn. He was previously President and COO of Ironshore Pharmaceuticals, President of Integrated Health Services at IQVIA (formerly Quintiles), and Principal of the Life Sciences Commercial practice at Deloitte Consulting. He sits on the Board of Worldwide Clinical Trials.
About Cairn Therapeutics
Cairn Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company with a mission to help patients beat cancer. Founded in 2016, Cairn is developing its lead candidate, CT-262, a first-in-its-class treatment for solid and hematological tumors. Cairn holds the exclusive worldwide license to CT-262, which was invented at Scripps Research using unique medicinal chemistry to create a highly potent DNA alkylating agent that preferentially activates in cancer cells. In vitro and in vivo animal oncology models have shown CT-262 to produce markedly better efficacy and safety results than current first-line therapies and highlight the potential to replace these compounds in a broad array of cancers. For more information, visit www.cairntherapeutics.com. Cairn Therapeutics: Broadly Selective.
Media & Investor Contact
Sutton T. Faller
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