Industry veteran most recently from Aveo Oncology joins clinical stage oncology company as it accelerates into Phase 2
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cybrexa Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology biotechnology company developing a novel class of tumor-targeting peptide drug conjugate (PDC) therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Michael N. Needle, MD as Chief Medical Officer. A board-certified hematologist/oncologist, Dr. Needle will be responsible for overseeing and strategizing the continued development of Cybrexa’s advancing pipeline. The Company recently presented positive findings from its first-in-human study of lead candidate, CBX-12 (alphalex™-exatecan) at the annual EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) Symposium in October 2022.
“As we advance our clinical programs and progress our early-stage pipeline, Mike’s extensive background and expertise bring valuable insights to the clinical strategy and development,” said Per Hellsund, President & CEO, Cybrexa. “Mike will be replacing Chief Medical Officer Arthur DeCillis, MD who will be transitioning back into a consulting role. Art’s leadership over the last two and a half years has been invaluable to the process of getting CBX-12 into the clinic and through its FIH study, and I am confident that Mike will be instrumental in furthering Cybrexa’s goal of bringing hope to cancer patients with few or no treatment options.”
Dr. Needle brings more than 20 years of industry experience in clinical, business development, regulatory, and safety. Prior to joining Cybrexa, he served as CMO for Aveo Oncology, Array BioPharma, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and Consortium, and was also Vice President, Pediatric Strategy at Celgene. He holds a Doctor of Medicine from State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, and a Bachelor of Arts in physics from Binghamton University.
About the alphalex™ Technology Platform
The Cybrexa alphalex™ technology is a novel antigen-independent peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) platform that enables targeted delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments and aims to revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. The platform consists of a pH-Low Insertion Peptides (pHLIPs®) peptide, linker, and small molecule anti-cancer agent. pHLIP peptides are a family of pH-Low Insertion Peptides that target acidic cell surfaces. pHLIP was developed at Yale University and the University of Rhode Island, and is exclusively licensed to pHLIP, Inc., and Cybrexa is a sublicensee of pHLIP, Inc.
About Cybrexa
Cybrexa is a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering novel antigen-independent tumor-targeting peptide drug conjugate (PDC) therapeutics. The company is led by a dynamic team of highly successful life science entrepreneurs and veteran drug development scientists. Cybrexa investors include Advantage Capital Connecticut, Connecticut Innovations, Elm Street Ventures and HighCape Capital. It is on a mission to create therapeutics that revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. Cybrexa’s robust pipeline aims to combat breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancer and a range of other tumors. Its assets are built on Cybrexa’s alphalex™ technology platform, which enables intracellular delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments. Cybrexa is based in New Haven, Conn. and was founded in 2017. For more information about Cybrexa, please visit www.cybrexa.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Investors Contact:
Stephen Basso
CFO/COO
Cybrexa Therapeutics
475-655-7952
[email protected]
Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia
TellMed Strategies
908-884-7024
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