SAN MATEO, Calif. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kronos Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: KRON), a company dedicated to transforming the lives of those affected by cancer and other serious diseases, today announced the appointment of Dr. Elizabeth Olek, DO, MPH, as senior vice president, Clinical Development. Dr. Olek joins Kronos Bio from Loxo Oncology at Lilly.
Dr. Olek will be responsible for the planning, conduct and analysis of Kronos Bio’s clinical trials, reporting to Jorge DiMartino, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and executive vice president, Clinical Development. Dr. Olek’s role will also include oversight of the company’s three current investigational drug candidates, entospletinib, lanraplenib and KB-0742, as well as future programs. Entospletinib, a spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor and the company’s lead product candidate, is being evaluated in the pivotal Phase 3 AGILITY trial as a treatment for patients with NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia. Kronos Bio is also currently conducting the dose-escalation stage of a Phase 1/2 trial with the cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) inhibitor KB-0742 in patients with solid tumors and plans to initiate two Phase 1b/2 clinical trials in the first half of this year with lanraplenib, the company’s next-generation SYK inhibitor.
“We are delighted to welcome Liz to Kronos Bio to lead our clinical development organization, as we advance our three investigational compounds through clinical trials,” said Dr. DiMartino. “Liz brings decades of drug development experience to her role, most recently at Loxo Oncology at Lilly, where she was the clinical development lead on a hematology program. Liz’s deep experience in the clinical development of cancer drugs will be invaluable as we continue to grow these programs and add to our portfolio.”
Prior to Loxo Oncology at Lilly, Dr. Olek worked at Puma Biotechnology, leading a clinical program for neratinib in breast cancer. Previously, Dr. Olek served as chief medical officer at Achillion Pharmaceuticals and in clinical leadership roles at Novartis. She began her industry career at Genetics Institute and then InterMune, and has served as a consultant to multiple biotechnology companies assisting in early clinical-stage strategy and development. She received a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and a Master of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health. She trained in Infectious Diseases at the Boston Medical Center and Finland Laboratory, spending several years in HIV/ID practice before joining the pharmaceutical industry.
About Kronos Bio, Inc.
Kronos Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing therapies that seek to transform the lives of those affected by cancer and other serious diseases. The company focuses on targeting dysregulated transcription factors and the regulatory networks within cells that drive cancerous growth. Kronos Bio’s lead investigational therapy is entospletinib, a selective inhibitor targeting spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) in development for the frontline treatment of NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The company is also developing KB-0742, an oral inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), for the treatment of MYC-amplified solid tumors.
Kronos Bio is based in San Mateo, Calif., and has a research facility in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, visit www.kronosbio.com or follow the company on LinkedIn.
Company Contact:
Marni Kottle
Kronos Bio
650-900-3450
mkottle@kronosbio.com
Investors:
Claudia Styslinger
Argot Partners
212-600-1902
kronosbio@argotpartners.com
Media:
Sheryl Seapy
Real Chemistry
949-903-4750
sseapy@realchemistry.com
