AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PanTher Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company developing high-dose, long lasting, localized treatments for cancer, announced that John Edwards has been appointed as the Executive Chair of the Board of Directors.
“John has been an outstanding addition to our Board and management team since joining the company in September. We look forward to further benefiting from his experience as we continue to advance our lead program, PTM-101, into later stage clinical trials,” said Laura Indolfi, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of PanTher. “John has successfully guided many biotech companies through key stages in their evolution and he is a tremendous resource for our organization.”
John brings over 35 years of experience in discovery, development, and global commercialization of biopharmaceuticals to PanTher. His experience includes involvement with ten FDA approved biologics and eight biotech companies with successful exits, including Tilos Therapeutics, Siamab, Adnexus, F-star and Genetics Institute. Most recently, John held the role of Executive Chair and CEO at Abcuro, where he transformed the small preclinical-stage company into a well-funded organization with a highly experienced C-suite, and advanced its lead program into a phase III clinical trial.
During his time as Executive Chair at Tilos, he helped the company from founding to acquisition by Merck in just two years. While at F-star, John helped grow the company from discovery-stage into to a leading clinical-stage developer of bispecific antibodies, raising over $230M in non-dilutive capital, including several asset-based M&A transactions. Under his guidance as COO, Adnexus evolved from a start-up to a $450M acquisition by BMS within 4 years; he then continued as President of the company for three years. Early in his career, John was Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Medical Affairs at Transkaryotic Therapies and had a 15-year tenure with Genetics Institute/Wyeth, during which time he built what has become a >$1B global pharmaceutical business in hematology. He received his MBA from Boston University and his BS in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
“I am very impressed with PanTher’s lead program and therapeutic platform, which I feel has the potential to be transformative for the treatment of locally advanced, solid tumors,” said John. “PanTher’s approach combines established cancer treatments, whose dosing is limited by toxicity, with their technology that enables continuous, high-dose, delivery to the tumor. In doing so, drug levels at the site of a tumor are >100 fold higher than what is currently possible, leading to more effective treatments without unwanted dose-limiting systemic side effects. This unlocks the full potential of potent therapeutic agents to more effectively treat cancer. I am excited to work with Laura, the management team, and Board to help guide the company’s future direction as it prepares to enter phase 1b clinical trials with its lead program.”
About PanTher Therapeutics
PanTher Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company offering transformational localized treatment of cancer. This is accomplished through its proprietary Sagittari™ platform which enables continuous, high-dose treatment of potent oncology agents exclusively at the site of a tumor. The Sagittari™ treatment platform is a revolutionary solution for local administration of therapeutic agents. This foundational technology was invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by PanTher’s founder and CEO. Sagittari is a polymer-based system that allows therapeutic agents to be formulated in a wide range of dosage forms that can be administered to the surface of a cancerous organ or implanted directly into a tumor. The drug product is designed to continuously deliver drug for weeks or months at a desired dose level, without unwanted dose-limiting side effects. PanTher’s lead clinical candidate, PTM-101, has successfully been evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in treatment naïve localized non-metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. PanTher is exploring opportunities to utilize its platform technology in additional solid tumor indications. For more information, visit www.panthertx.com.
About PTM-101
PanTher’s lead clinical candidate, PTM-101, is a proprietary flexible absorbable film that enables sustained, high-dose administration of paclitaxel directly to the peritumoral area, maximizing anti-tumor potency and avoiding the severe side effects typically seen with systemic administration of paclitaxel. PTM-101 was designed to easily integrate with well-established laparoscopic procedures that can be used for peritumoral placement. PTM-101 is being evaluated for the treatment of localized non-metastatic pancreatic cancer, where the company recently completed a successful phase 1 study. PanTher is now preparing to initiate a Phase 1b trial of PTM-101, to further assess safety, tolerability, and anti-tumor activity across two different dose levels.
