VANCOUVER, BC, April 29, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, Rakovina Therapeutics announced the formation of its inaugural Scientific Advisory Board. Made up of experts in biology, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, the Scientific Advisory Board will contribute to Rakovina Therapeutics' development of new cancer treatments informed by the latest scientific research, and practical and clinical perspectives.
"We are thrilled to have such a talented and experienced scientific advisory board providing critical expertise to our team", said Jeffrey Bacha, Rakovina Therapeutics executive chairman. "Rakovina Therapeutics will benefit from their invaluable input as we advance our pipeline of novel oncology assets."
Rakovina Therapeutics is committed to advancing new cancer treatments based on novel DNA-damage response technologies. Under the advisement of the Scientific Advisory Board, made up of world-class experts who have been directly involved in the successful development of multiple life-saving cancer treatments, Rakovina Therapeutics aims to develop innovative therapies for a range of cancer indications.
"Rakovina Therapeutics aims to become a leader in the development of new medicines in the fast-moving DNA-damage response field," said Prof. Mads Daugaard, Rakovina Therapeutics' president and chief scientific officer. "Working with our distinguished Scientific Advisory Board allows us to deepen our commitment to conducting leading edge scientific research and developing best-in-class cancer therapeutics, ultimately benefiting cancer patients and their families."
The inaugural members of the Rakovina Therapeutics scientific advisory board include:
Dennis Brown, PhD has been involved in cancer drug discovery and development for more than 35 years. Initially with the Stanford Research Institute at Stanford University where he was involved in drug-screening activities sponsored by the US National Cancer Institute. Dr. Brown has founded or co-founded multiple companies including Matrix Pharmaceutical, Inc. (acquired by Chiron Corp. in 2002), Mountain View Pharmaceuticals, ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Cephalon/Teva in 2011) and Kintara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTRA, formerly DelMar Pharmaceuticals). During his career, Dr. Brown has been involved in the discovery and development of multiple FDA-approved cancer therapies. He currently serves as a member of the National Brain Tumor Society Research Roundtable, as a consultant to DelMar Pharmaceuticals, as Chairman of Mountain View Pharmaceutical's Board of Directors and is the President of Valent Technologies LLC, which supported the discovery and development of Edison Oncology's drug candidates. Dr. Brown served as an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Harvard University Medical School and as a Research Associate in Radiology at Stanford University Medical School. He received his B.A. in Biology and Chemistry (1971), M.S. in Cell Biology (1975) and Ph.D. in Radiation and Cancer Biology (1979), all from New York University. Dr. Brown is an inventor of more than 40 issued U.S. patents and applications, many with foreign counterparts.
Leonard Post, PhD brings more than 35 years of drug development and leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry spanning companies of all sizes. He currently serves as member of the board of directors and chief scientific officer of Vivace Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he served as chief scientific officer of BioMarin, a publicly held biopharmaceutical firm with a focus on rare diseases. He joined BioMarin when the company acquired LEAD Therapeutics, where he was chief scientific officer and responsible for the development of the blockbuster PARP inhibitor talazoparib until it was sold to Medivation, Inc. and ultimately commercialized by Pfizer, Inc. following the $14 billion acquisition of Medivation, Inc. Positions prior to LEAD included senior vice president of research and development for Onyx Pharmaceuticals and vice president of discovery research for Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Post holds a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan.
Neil Sankar, MD received his training in clinical research and tumor biology from NCI Bethesda Maryland and since has held Clinical development positions within leading Biotech/Pharma including Genentech, Medimmune, Pharmacyclis, Fiveprime, Otsuka, Portola, CBT Pharmaceuticals, LSK biopharma and Rhizen Pharmaceuticals. As an expert in providing global clinical development and regulatory strategies for therapeutic drugs, Dr Sankar has acted as clinical lead in numerous phase I, II and III clinical trials. He is and was instrumental in filing the New Drug Applications for the antibody-drug conjugate Kadcyla and the B cell receptor signaling kinase inhibitor Ibrutinib. He has extensive experience in the application of US Food and Drug Administration regulations and the Good Clinical Practice guidelines set forth by the International Council on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. Dr. Sankar is an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the European Hematology Association (EHA), Drug information association (DIA), European society of clinical oncology (ESMO), American association for cancer research (AACR), Enterprising Pharmaceutical Professionals from the Indian Sub-Continent (EPPIC GLOBAL), Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS), and TiE Silicon Valley. Neil Sankar received his MD degree from Bangalore university and internal medicine residency from Univ of West indies, Kingston, Jamaica and trained in UK and the Caribbean. He also holds a postgraduate degree in public health from Queensland University in Australia.
Wang Shen, PhD is the inventor of the kt-2000, kt-3000 and kt-4000 families of drug candidates under development by Rakovina Therapeutics. Dr. Shen is founder and chief executive officer of Viva Vision Biotech, an ophthalmology company based in Shanghai, China. Dr. Shen has more than 20 years of drug discovery and project management experiences in large pharmaceutical companies such as Abbott, Amgen, Sunesis and Kanion USA. He is the principal inventor of Lifitegrast (SAR1118), a potent LFA-1 inhibitor, approved by FDA to treat dry eye disease. He also made an important contribution to Venetoclax (ABT-199/GDC-0199), a selective BCL-2 inhibitor, approved by FDA in 2016 to treat certain types of leukemia. He is the co-author of over 40 peer-reviewed publications and co-inventor of over 40 patents. Dr. Shen received his B.S. in chemistry from Fudan University and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Pittsburgh University with Professor Dennis P. Curran. Dr. Shen completed his postdoctoral training in Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with Prof. Samuel J. Danishefsky.
About Rakovina Therapeutics Inc.
Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. was established in 2020 to develop new cancer treatments based on novel DNA-damage response technologies. The Company has established a pipeline of DNA-damage response inhibitors with the goal of advancing one or more drug candidates into human clinical trials and obtaining marketing approval for new cancer therapeutics from Health Canada, the United States Food and Drug Administration and similar international regulatory agencies. Further information may be found at www.rakovinatherapeutics.com.
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