Ajax Therapeutics Appoints Srdan “Serge” Verstovsek, MD, PhD, to Scientific Advisory Board

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ajax Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company applying computational chemistry and structure-based technologies to develop novel small molecules for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), today announced the appointment of Srdan “Serge” Verstovsek, MD, PhD, to the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Verstovsek is a global leader in MPNs and the Founder/Director of the world’s largest MPN clinical research center at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

“We are excited to have Serge join our scientific advisory board,” said Dr. Ross Levine, Chair of Ajax’s SAB and Deputy Physician-in-Chief, Translational ResearchLaurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research and Member of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “Serge has been instrumental in the clinical development of all the leading drugs for MPNs and we look forward to his expert input as we move Ajax’s lead development programs into the clinic.”

“I am pleased to be joining the Ajax SAB at this exciting stage of the company’s development,” said Dr. Verstovsek. “I have been impressed by Ajax’s approach to developing new classes of JAK2 inhibitors and look forward to working with Ross and the other MPN experts on the SAB to bring these encouraging new therapies into the clinic to address the significant unmet needs of MPN patients.”

Dr. Verstovsek is the United Energy Resources, Inc., Professor of Medicine, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is also Director of the Hanns A. Pielenz Clinical Research Center for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms and Chief, Section for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms. Dr. Verstovsek has achieved international acclaim for his leadership in developing landmark MPN therapeutics and has led more than 60 early/advanced phase clinical trials of novel MPN drugs, including ruxolitinib. He has published 24 book chapters, more than 600 peer-reviewed original articles/reviews in leading medical journals and has received numerous clinical research awards. He was elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2015 and is co-founder/Executive Committee Member of the International Working Group for MF Treatment and Research. Dr. Verstovsek received his MD and PhD from the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

About Ajax Therapeutics

Ajax Therapeutics, Inc. is pursuing uniquely selective approaches to develop novel first-in-class therapeutics for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including Myelofibrosis. By combining the deep cancer and structural biology insights of our founding scientists with the industry’s most advanced computational drug discovery and protein structure platforms from our founding partner, Schrödinger, Inc., we aim to discover and develop more precisely designed therapies to address significant unmet needs for patients with MPNs.

Please find more information at www.ajaxtherapeutics.com.