SOUTH SAN
FRANCISCO, Oct. 18,
2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc.
(NASDAQ: IDYA), a synthetic lethality focused precision medicine
oncology company committed to the discovery and development of
targeted therapeutics, announced that Michael White, Ph.D., will join the company as
its Chief Scientific Officer, effective November 1, 2021.
"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. White, and we believe his deep
industry experience as CSO and Head of Tumor Biology at Pfizer, and
extensive knowledge in cancer biology developed during a prolific
academic career at UT Southwestern, will enable IDEAYA to extend
its position as the industry leader in the emerging field of
synthetic lethality. Under Dr. White's leadership we will
continue to enhance IDEAYA's synthetic lethality platform and
advance our next generation synthetic lethality pipeline, including
in biomarker populations beyond HRD, such as MTAP, as well as
utilizing both small molecule inhibitor and protein degrader drug
discovery approaches," said Yujiro S.
Hata, President and Chief Executive Officer of IDEAYA
Biosciences.
"I am excited to join IDEAYA to help advance the company's
strategic vision to discover and develop potential first-in-class
and best-in-class synthetic lethality-based precision therapies for
oncology. This emerging realm of precision medicine holds
considerable potential to deliver new treatments for cancer
patients with unmet need, particularly for those harboring disease
that emerges from loss-of-function genetic alterations that are
otherwise undruggable. A prominent example is MTAP-deletion,
where IDEAYA is well-positioned to be an industry leader with
continued advancement of the potential best-in-class Phase 1 MAT2A
inhibitor IDE397 and potential novel synthetic lethality
combinations," said Dr. Michael
White.
Dr. White formerly served as Chief Scientific Officer and Head
of Tumor Biology at Pfizer, Inc., where he led cross-disciplinary
groups to build an oncology small-molecule pipeline focused on
first-in-class therapies, culminating in numerous INDs. Prior
to joining Pfizer, Dr. White had a prolific over twenty-year
academic career at UT Southwestern where he was a Professor of Cell
Biology and founding Director of the Cancer Intervention and
Prevention Discovery Program. In 2015, Dr. White received the
inaugural Outstanding Investigator's Award from the National Cancer
Institute (NCI), the U.S. Government's principal agency for cancer
research, and has authored over 150 publications with over 22,000
citations. Dr. White received his Ph.D. in Biology from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill and completed postdoctoral research at Cold Spring
Harbor Laboratories in New
York.
Dr. White succeeds Dr. Michael
Dillon, who joined IDEAYA in 2016. Dr. Dillon served
as Chief Scientific Officer since 2018, and announced his plans to
transition in late 2019. "We thank Dr. Dillon for his
extensive contributions, and we wish him the best in his future
endeavors," said Yujiro S. Hata,
President and Chief Executive Officer of IDEAYA Biosciences.
About IDEAYA Biosciences
IDEAYA is a synthetic lethality-focused precision medicine
oncology company committed to the discovery and development of
targeted therapeutics for patient populations selected using
molecular diagnostics. IDEAYA's approach integrates
capabilities in identifying and validating translational biomarkers
with drug discovery to select patient populations most likely to
benefit from its targeted therapies. IDEAYA is applying its
early research and drug discovery capabilities to synthetic
lethality – which represents an emerging class of precision
medicine targets.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including, but not limited to, statements related to (i) the
anticipated starting date of Dr. White and (ii) the impact Dr.
White will have on IDEAYA's programs. IDEAYA undertakes no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For
a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these
forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the
business of IDEAYA in general, see IDEAYA's Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q filed on August 10, 2021
and any current and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc.