ProfoundBio Readies for Next Phase of Growth with Management Team Additions and Advisory Board Appointment
—Lori Kunkel, M.D., to lead the Scientific Advisory Board—
—Erin Lavelle joins as chief operating officer & chief financial officer—
—Kevin Hambly joins as chief business officer—
SEATTLE, November 02, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ProfoundBio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics for cancer, today announced the addition of multiple industry veterans to its leadership team to support its growth.
"There is tremendous momentum in the field of ADCs for cancer, and we have a bold aim to develop the next-generation of ADC therapies with optimal linker and payload technologies to produce better patient outcomes," said Baiteng Zhao, CEO of ProfoundBio. "To achieve this, we need deep expertise and hands-on experience. We are thrilled to welcome Erin and Kevin to our leadership team as we plan for this next stage of growth. In addition, as chair of our Scientific Advisory Board, Lori brings decades of clinical thought-leadership and strategic product development experience in ADCs. We look forward to working alongside them."
ProfoundBio also announced additional changes to the company's executive team. Co-founders Tae Han and Xiao Shang will take on the roles of chief strategy officer and head of CMC, respectively.
Dr. Kunkel currently serves on the board of directors of K36 Therapeutics, ORIC Pharmaceuticals and Nurix Therapeutics and has previously served on the board of directors of Curis, Maverick, Loxo Oncology, Amphivena, Harpoon Therapeutics, and Tocagen. Previously, she served as acting chief medical officer at Loxo Oncology, chief medical officer at Pharmacyclics and Proteolix, and in various senior clinical roles at Baxter Healthcare, Chiron, and Genentech. Prior to joining the biotechnology industry in 1995, Dr. Kunkel spent 10 years in academic medicine and served as a faculty member at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Kunkel received her medical degree from University of Southern California and her bachelor’s degree in biology from University of California, San Diego. She is board certified in internal medicine and held board certifications in hematology and oncology.
Ms. Lavelle has more than 25 years of strategic and operational leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining ProfoundBio, she served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Eliem Therapeutics, where she drove the company’s operational build and initial public offering. Prior to that, Erin served as COO for Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and led Alder’s $2.3B acquisition by H. Lundbeck. Before joining Alder, she held a variety of roles in business development and the commercial organization during 15 years at Amgen. Erin began her career as an investment banker in the healthcare group at Merrill Lynch & Co. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University. Ms. Lavelle has also served on the board of Neoleukin Therapeutics since 2020.
Mr. Hambly has more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical business development, corporate strategy, investor relations and fundraising experience. Most recently, he served as VP Corporate Development & Strategy at Eliem Therapeutics, where he helped drive the company’s crossover round and IPO. Prior to Eliem, Kevin was the head of business development at Alder Biopharmaceuticals and was responsible for business development efforts that culminated in Alder’s $2.3B acquisition by H. Lundbeck. Mr. Hambly has held business development leadership roles at Seattle Genetics, Catalent, and Nutcracker Therapeutics. Over his career, he has been responsible for a diverse set of strategic deals, including numerous licensing and co-development collaborations at Seattle Genetics which have resulted in multiple approved ADC therapies. He holds a Master of Business and Science (MBS) degree from the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry & Cellular/Molecular Biology from Western Washington University.
ProfoundBio will announce data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of its lead ADC candidate, rinatabart sesutecan (Rina-S; PRO1184), preclinical data on its Protein Tyrosine Kinase 7 (PTK7)-directed ADC PRO1107, and its continued ADC platform innovations at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s 38th Annual Meeting (SITC 2023) on November 3.
About ProfoundBio
ProfoundBio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel antibody-based therapeutics with curative potential for patients with cancer. Built on internally developed, innovative, and proprietary technology platforms, ProfoundBio has developed a pipeline consisting of multiple antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drug candidates targeting solid tumors and hematological malignancies that are in discovery, preclinical, and clinical development stages. The Company’s clinical stage programs are rinatabart sesutecan (Rina-S; PRO1184), an ADC targeting folate receptor alpha, PRO1160, an ADC targeting CD70, and PRO1107, an ADC targeting PTK7. ProfoundBio is headquartered in Seattle, WA, USA.
For more information, please visit www.profoundbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
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