Corvus Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of New Member of Board of Directors and Hiring of Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Grais has more than 20 years of experience with emerging companies in the biopharmaceutical industry. As a member of Corvus’ Board of Directors, she is replacing
“Dr. Grais is a highly-trained physician with extensive operational, clinical, business development and drug development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry,” said
Dr. Miller added, “As Corvus continues to advance the clinical and preclinical development of our five proprietary product candidates with differentiated mechanisms of action across a range of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, with some nearing late-stage clinical development, it is necessary to deepen our clinical and regulatory capabilities. Dr. Mobasher is ideally suited to be our chief medical officer given his training in hematology and oncology and his recent leadership role in the development and approval of venetoclax at Genentech. We are thrilled to add him to our executive team as we continue to evaluate our two most advanced investigational medicines, which target the adenosine pathway, in ongoing Phase 1/1b and Phase 1b/2 clinical trials, and expect to initiate a Phase 1/1b trial of our ITK inhibitor in lymphoma in the first quarter of 2019.”
Dr. Grais currently serves on the Board of Directors of
“I'm excited to join Corvus’ Board and look forward to collaborating with the other Board members and the talented leadership team,” said Dr. Grais. “During my career in the life sciences industry, I’ve had numerous opportunities to help companies grow. I look forward to bringing my experience and expertise to Corvus to help it advance its pipeline of promising oncology therapies, which have the potential to improve the lives of patients with cancer.”
Dr. Mobasher joined Genentech in 2010 and has held several positions of increasing responsibility. Most recently, he was a Group Medical Director and Venetoclax Development Lead, where he oversaw and led the strategy for the global development of venetoclax with several phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials in numerous hematologic cancers, as well as solid tumors. Dr. Mobasher led the clinical development efforts for venetoclax, a novel drug through four successful Breakthrough Therapy designations from the
"I’m excited to take on the role of Chief Medical Officer for Corvus as it’s a rare opportunity to join a young company with such a deep and diverse pipeline of product candidates, strong research capability, and a team of talented and experienced executives with proven track records,” said Dr. Mobasher. “Having worked in hematology/oncology drug development for nearly a decade, I’ve seen many different approaches, but I’m truly impressed by Corvus’ focus on developing medicines that precisely modulate molecular targets that are well-defined and measurable. I’m excited about the clinical data I’ve seen to date for Corvus’ lead investigational drugs, CPI-444 and CPI-006, and look forward to potentially bringing them to patients in need, while advancing our other pipeline products into the clinic.”
About
Corvus Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of precisely targeted oncology therapies. Corvus’ lead product candidate, CPI-444, a small molecule inhibitor of the A2A receptor, is currently being evaluated in a multicenter Phase 1/1b clinical trial in patients with various solid tumors. This successive expansion cohort trial is examining the activity of CPI-444 both as a single agent and in combination with Genentech’s atezolizumab, an anti-PD-L1 antibody. Corvus is conducting the trial with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, under a clinical trial collaboration the two companies entered into in October 2015. In May 2017, Corvus and Genentech expanded the collaboration and are now conducting a trial of CPI-444 and atezolizumab in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have failed prior therapies with anti-PD-(L)1 and platinum based chemotherapy. Corvus is evaluating a second product candidate, CPI-006, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against CD73, in a multicenter Phase 1/1b clinical trial in patients with various solid tumors. For more information, visit www.corvuspharma.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements related to the potential safety and efficacy of CPI-444 and CPI-006, the Company’s ability to develop and advance product candidates into and successfully complete preclinical studies and clinical trials, including the Company’s Phase 1/1b clinical trial of CPI-444 and the Company’s Phase 1/1b clinical trial of CPI-006. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “seek,” “will,” “may” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company’s control. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
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Source: Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.