MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amunix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Amunix”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel protein therapeutics, continues to build momentum and today announced an expansion of the executive team. Last year, Amunix brought on Frazier Life Sciences as majority shareholder and appointed Dr. Angie You as CEO. Amunix is now further expanding the executive team with the addition of Mika Derynck, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, Darcy Mootz, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer, and Yvonne Li as Senior Vice President of Finance.
“We are very pleased to have top talent such as Mika, Darcy, and Yvonne join the Amunix executive team,” said Amunix CEO Angie You, Ph.D. “They bring a wealth of skills and experiences that will help accelerate the growth of the company. Their recruitment speaks to the promise of our Pro-XTEN platform in addressing the key challenge of on-target, off-tumor toxicity with T-cell engagers and cytokines.”
Patrick Heron, Amunix Director and General Partner with Frazier Healthcare Partners, shared that “Amunix is undergoing an exciting transformation from a technology company to an oncology drug discovery and development company. With these strong additions to the executive team, Amunix continues to build momentum and is well-positioned to maximize the potential of its platform technologies to benefit patients.”
ABOUT DR. MIKA DERYNCK, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Dr. Derynck is an accomplished drug developer with over 25 years of experience in cancer research, including a 15-year career at Genentech/Roche. She has deep expertise in oncology drug development, which spans multiple therapeutic modalities, tumor types, and all phases of development. During her tenure at Genentech/Roche, she oversaw the approvals and/or global development for over a dozen drugs, including Perjeta®, Avastin®, Tecentriq®, Cotellic®, ipatasertib, taselisib, pictilisib, and apitolisib. Most recently, she served as the Global Head for Cancer Immunotherapy, GI/GU Cancers, Angiogenesis Franchises and China Oncology Development. She also served as the Co-Chair of the Cancer Immunotherapy Committee (CITC), the GI/GU Franchises Committee, and the Breast Cancer Disease Area Team. Dr. Derynck was also a Senior Group Medical Director of Exploratory Clinical Development at Genentech, serving as the development lead for multiple early-stage programs. Before Genentech, Dr. Derynck was an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSF Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and Division of Hematology / Oncology. She holds a B.A. from Boston University and an M.D. from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed an internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins, followed by a fellowship in Hematology / Oncology at UCSF and a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF.
ABOUT DR. DARCY MOOTZ, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER
Dr. Mootz is an experienced corporate development executive with a broad background ranging from development strategy to operations, marketing, and corporate development and finance. Before joining Amunix, she was an independent consultant working with VCs and pharmaceutical companies on a wide range of corporate development and strategy projects. Prior to that, she served as Chief Business Officer of ORIC Pharmaceuticals, a private oncology company, where she had a broad operational role. While VP of Corporate Development at Achaogen, she helped the company complete a successful IPO, led the project team for the company’s lead Phase 3 antibiotic (ZEMDRI®), and helped raise over $100M in non-dilutive capital. Earlier experiences include playing key roles in the $500M sale of BiPar Sciences and in a successful new indication launch for Avastin® while at Genentech. Dr. Mootz started her career in industry at L.E.K. Consulting. She earned a B.S. in Biology from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University.
ABOUT YVONNE LI, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE
Yvonne is a seasoned finance executive with expertise in equity financing, financial planning and analysis, technical accounting, and internal controls. Over her 12-year career at OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, a public oncology company, she held increasing responsibility, most recently leading the finance group as the VP of Finance, Principle Financial/Accounting Officer. At OncoMed, she not only managed all aspects of the long-term business planning, but also oversaw the day-to-day accounting operations of the company, including production of financial statements and SEC filings. In addition, she oversaw other G&A functions including HR, facilities, and IT. Prior to OncoMed, she served as the Director of Finance of the Anita Borg Institute, where she managed both accounting and financial planning & analysis. Yvonne received her MBA in Finance from San Francisco State University, and she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
About Amunix Pharmaceuticals
Amunix Pharmaceuticals, based in Mountain View, CA, is a privately held drug discovery and development company with two proprietary technologies, XTEN® and Pro-XTEN, which enable the rapid generation of novel protein therapeutics. These technologies are designed to enable half-life extension, pro-drug formulation, and expansion of the therapeutic window for oncology drugs such as T cell engagers and cytokines that suffer from on-target, off-tumor toxicity. The company’s two lead programs (preclinical stage), which derive from the Pro-XTEN platform, are masked T-cell engagers that are designed to be selectively activated in the tumor microenvironment.
Amunix’s robust technology platforms have been validated through multiple collaborations with leading biopharmaceutical companies including Celgene, Genentech, Janssen, Roche, Bioverativ, and Baxter. Frazier Healthcare Partners is a majority shareholder.
For additional information about the company, please visit www.amunix.com.
Contacts:
Angie You, Ph.D.
CEO
Tel: 650-889-5095
ayou@amunix.com