SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amunix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Amunix”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing prodrugs to bring the promise of potent immune-activating biotherapeutics to patients with solid tumor cancers, today announced the appointment of Zeeshan Merchant as Chief Financial Officer and Trisha Millican to the Board of Directors.
Mr. Merchant joins Amunix with over 15 years of experience in biotechnology as an investment banker and investor. He joins from Morgan Stanley, where he served as an Executive Director in the healthcare investment banking group, advising biotechnology companies on financings and strategic matters.
Ms. Millican, who will head the audit committee, brings over 20 years of experience in the life science industry, including experience with debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, licensing transactions, co-development and promotional arrangements, and commercial product launches.
“We are excited to welcome Zeeshan and Trisha, both leaders in the financial services and healthcare industry, to Amunix,” said Angie You, CEO of Amunix. “Their expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to grow Amunix and transition into a clinical stage company. We are excited about the potential of our lead development candidate, AMX-818, a protease-activated T cell engager prodrug targeting HER2+ solid tumors, to significantly benefit patients.”
ABOUT ZEESHAN MERCHANT
Zeeshan Merchant has over 15 years of experience in biotechnology as an investment banker and investor. Prior to joining Amunix, Mr. Merchant worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, serving as an Executive Director in the firm’s healthcare investment banking group. In this role, Mr. Merchant advised U.S. and Asia based biotechnology companies on financings and strategic matters, and successfully executed over 50 transactions, including $20 billion in financing and $25 billion in mergers and acquisitions. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Mr. Merchant worked as Senior Analyst at Ayer Capital, a healthcare dedicated investment fund. In this role, Mr. Merchant identified and analyzed biotechnology and healthcare investments globally. Prior to Ayer Capital, Mr. Merchant worked as a private equity Associate at TA Associates, a leading, global growth private equity firm. Mr. Merchant received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
ABOUT TRISHA MILLICAN
Trisha Millican has 20 years of leadership experience in the life science industry encompassing debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, licensing transactions, co-development and promotional arrangements, and commercial product launches. She is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Metacrine. Prior to Metacrine, Ms. Millican was the Senior Vice President of Finance at Seragon, a private biotechnology company focused on developing Selective Estrogen Receptor Degraders (SERDs) targeting hormone dependent cancers, which was acquired by Genentech. Prior to Seragon, she served as Vice President of Finance at Aragon, a discovery-stage small molecule company focused on therapeutics for the treatment of hormone-resistant cancers, which was acquired by Johnson and Johnson. Prior to Aragon, Ms. Millican worked in various senior financial management roles at Zogenix, a pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative central nervous system therapies for people living with serious and life- threatening rare central nervous system disorders and medical conditions. Ms. Millican spent five years with the public accounting firm Deloitte LLP. She holds a B.S. in Accountancy from the University of San Diego and is a certified public accountant in the state of California.
About Amunix Pharmaceuticals
Amunix Pharmaceuticals, based in South San Francisco, CA, is focused on developing prodrugs to bring the promise of potent immune-activating biotherapeutics to patients with solid tumor cancers. The company is leveraging its proprietary T cell engager (XPAT) and cytokine (XPAC) platforms to advance a pipeline of novel masked prodrugs that are preferentially activated in the tumor microenvironment. Both platforms utilize Amunix’s proprietary masking technology that has been clinically validated to extend drug half-life with limited immunogenicity. Amunix is advancing its lead development candidate, AMX-818, an XPAT T cell engager targeting HER2+ solid tumors, toward the clinic (currently in IND-enabling studies), and has several earlier programs underway. Amunix is also working on their first protease-activated masked cytokine program, IL12-XPAC, which is in discovery.
For additional information about the company, please visit www.amunix.com.
Contacts
Company Contact:
Jen Herbach
Director, Corporate Development
BD@amunix.com