HARRISON, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 4, 2019 / Sapience Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of peptide therapeutics to address difficult to treat oncology indications, today announced the appointment of Alice S. Bexon, MD, as the company’s Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Bexon will guide the advancement of Sapience’s C/EBPβ antagonist, ST101, into the clinic for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, and manage the strategy, direction, and execution of the company’s overall clinical drug development efforts. In addition to Dr. Bexon, the company also announced the hiring of Sara Musalli-Lee to the role of Director, Clinical Operations and Program Management.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alice and Sara as the foundation of our clinical team,” said Barry Kappel, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sapience Therapeutics. “Alice has supported the preclinical development of ST101 for the past several years and brings over two decades of experience managing the clinical development of novel drugs to our team. As Sapience prepares ST101 for a first-in-human Phase 1/2 study, Alice’s deep expertise in oncology and familiarity with ST101 will be a major asset. Sara brings decades of operational experience executing clinical studies to our team. Together, Alice and Sara will enable Sapience to make an effective transition to the clinic in the first half of 2020.”
“It is very exciting to be leading the Sapience clinical team with this new approach to the treatment of cancer,” said Dr. Bexon. “What sets ST101 apart is both the novelty of the target and the innovative design of the molecule itself. Having worked with the Sapience team for over two years, I believe the company’s scientific vision and expertise in peptide therapeutics will drive its success as we work to develop novel medicines for cancer patients that are not responsive to conventional treatments.”
Dr. Bexon has more than 20 years of experience managing the clinical development of numerous novel therapeutics, including drugs and biopharmaceuticals. She has executed clinical trials from phase 1 through phase 4 and brought several drugs through FDA and worldwide approval. In 2008, Dr. Bexon founded Bexon Clinical Consulting, which provides clinical development support to the pharma and biotech industries. Since then, Dr. Bexon has led oncology development teams in CMO and VP roles, most recently with Senesco Technologies (now Eloxx Pharmaceuticals) and Vyriad. Previously, Dr. Bexon was Vice President of Clinical Development at Idera Pharmaceuticals from 2007-2009. From 2001-2006, she held a series of positions of increasing responsibility at Roche Oncology, including serving as a key member of the clinical development and life cycle team responsible for Xeloda®. Prior to that, Dr. Bexon was the country medical lead for Eloxatin® in France, and also worked for the EORTC phase 1-2 unit in Amsterdam (the New Drug Development Office). Dr. Bexon earned her medical degree from Bristol University Medical School in the United Kingdom and her oncology diploma at the Institut Gustave Roussy in France.
Ms. Musalli-Lee has nearly 20 years of clinical operations experience, with more than 10 years focused in oncology. Throughout her career, she has led global clinical trials across all stages of clinical development and has experience with small molecules, large molecules, cell therapies, and gene therapies. Most recently, Ms. Musalli-Lee was a Senior Clinical Trial Manager at Symphogen Inc., where she was responsible for the planning, oversight, and execution of three Phase 1/2 clinical studies in solid tumors and hematology. Prior to Symphogen, Sara held clinical research and operations positions with Novartis, Schering Plough, and Aventis.
About Sapience Therapeutics
Sapience Therapeutics, Inc., is a privately held, biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing peptide-based therapeutics for major unmet medical needs, particularly high mortality cancers. With platform-based discovery of peptide therapeutics that disrupt protein:protein interactions, Sapience’s molecules hold potential to target intracellular interactions that are traditionally considered “undruggable targets”. Its lead compound, ST101, is a first-in-class molecule with potential applications in various solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. In 2016, Sapience Therapeutics closed its Series A financing, which was led by Eshelman Ventures and included investments from Celgene Corporation, TaiAn Technologies Corporation and Healthlink Capital. For more information on Sapience Therapeutics, please visit www.sapiencetherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may include, among other things, statements regarding future events that involve significant risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, and actual results and future events may differ materially as a result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risks related to the application of the net proceeds from the offering to Sapience’s product development objectives, our ability to obtain additional funds, and meet applicable regulatory standards and receive required regulatory approvals. These are forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Sapience does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise.
Contacts
Sapience Therapeutics, Inc.:
Barry Kappel
President and Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
SOURCE: Sapience Therapeutics, Inc.