– Seasoned industry executives add significant operating experience to Pyxis’ Board of Directors –
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 7, 2021 – Pyxis Oncology (“Pyxis” or the “Company”) today announced the appointments of Freda Lewis-Hall, M.D., Thomas Civik, Darren Cline, and Mark Chin to its Board of Directors. These strategic appointments strengthen the company’s operational, clinical, and commercial expertise across its robust portfolio of biological product candidates targeting difficult-to-treat cancers.
“We are pleased to welcome these highly successful and seasoned industry leaders to our Board of Directors as we continue to advance our antibody drug conjugates and monoclonal antibody immunotherapies,” said Lara Sullivan, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Pyxis. “These additions demonstrate our commitment to building a highly talented team with deep knowledge and insight that is extremely relevant to our mission and vision. Their combined experience will be instrumental in providing strategic oversight to support and guide Pyxis as we continue to evolve and grow our operations.”
Dr. Lewis-Hall has been on the frontlines of healthcare as a clinician, educator, researcher and senior executive in the biopharmaceuticals and life sciences industries during her 40-year career. She previously served as Chief Medical Officer, and Executive Vice President at Pfizer, Inc., where she was responsible for the safe, effective and appropriate use of the company’s medicines and vaccines. She also served as the company’s Chief Patient Officer, emphasizing patient engagement and inclusion. Prior to this, Dr. Lewis-Hall held various senior leadership positions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Pharmacia, and Eli Lilly and Company.
Mr. Civik is a successful operating executive with a consistent track record of driving growth in new and established businesses. Under Mr. Civik’s leadership as CEO of Five Prime Therapeutics, the company was sold to Amgen in April 2021. He has extensive expertise in the oncology space, having worked closely with R&D as a commercial leader to develop and optimize products with significant patient impact. Mr. Civik brings nearly 30 years of experience in the biopharma industry, across several commercial leadership roles, including Vice President and Franchise Head at Genentech and Chief Commercial Officer at Foundation Medicine.
Mr. Cline has more than 30 years of experience in the biopharma industry as an accomplished commercial executive. He has collaborated with R&D across in all stages of development across numerous therapeutic areas including oncology. Mr. Cline has held various leadership roles of increasing scale and complexity at industry-leading companies including Amgen, InterMune, Alexion, Seagen and most recently, GW Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Cline served on the Board of Stemline Therapeutics prior to the acquisition by Menarini Group.
Mr. Chin is a seasoned venture capital investor with significant experience as a Board Director of private and public biotech companies. As Managing Director, he has led Arix Bioscience into key portfolio company investments, including VelosBio, Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Aura Biosciences, Harpoon Therapeutics and Imara. Mr. Chin previously held various executive roles at Boston Consulting Group, Gilead Sciences, Genentech, and most recently, Longitude Capital, where he focused on corporate strategy and investments in biotech and medical technology companies.
About Pyxis Oncology
Pyxis Oncology is developing a diversified portfolio of next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and monoclonal antibody (mAb) immunotherapies to target difficult-to-treat cancers and improve quality of life for patients. By advancing ADC technology, immunotherapy biology and leveraging its own proprietary target catalog, the Company is building a superior portfolio of biological products that may be used alone or in combination with other therapies. To discover, develop and advance its differentiated cancer therapies and technologies, Pyxis Oncology is also forging creative business models and alliances while leveraging its deep scientific understanding of the biology of the tumor microenvironment. For additional information, visit pyxisoncology.com.
Investor Contact
Ashley Robinson
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
Media Contact
Jason Braco, Ph.D.
LifeSci Communications
jbraco@lifescicomms.com
