VBL Therapeutics Appoints Alison Finger and Michael Rice to its Board of Directors
July 08 2021 - 7:00AM
VBL Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VBLT) today announced the appointments of
Alison Finger and Michael Rice to its Board of Directors, effective
July 7, 2021. Professor Ruth Arnon has stepped down from her role
as a member of VBL’s Board of Directors, effective July 6, 2021.
She will continue her engagement with VBL as a scientific
consultant and a member of its Scientific Advisory Board.
“We are pleased to welcome Alison and Michael as the newest
members of our Board of Directors,” said Bennett Shapiro, M.D.,
Chairman of VBL’s Board of Directors. “Alison’s extensive
experience commercializing products globally at bluebird bio and
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Michael’s expertise in healthcare capital
markets will be invaluable to us as we approach disclosure of
topline data from the OVAL clinical trial of VB-111 in platinum
resistant ovarian cancer and, if successful, planning and execution
of our strategic and operational objectives to bring VB-111 to
patients who would benefit from it. We also owe a debt of gratitude
to Prof. Ruth Arnon for her significant contributions to our
development over 14 years of dedicated service on the Board."
About Alison Finger
Ms. Finger has nearly three decades of biotech and
pharmaceutical leadership experience building and optimizing brands
and portfolios in the areas of genetic medicine, cell therapy,
oncology, neurology, virology and metabolics. She has
commercialized products in the U.S., Europe, Asia and other
geographies. Most recently, Ms. Finger was Chief Commercial Officer
at bluebird bio (bluebird), where she built the commercial
infrastructure for Europe and the U.S. in advance of bluebird’s
first gene and cell therapy product launches. Prior to bluebird,
Ms. Finger spent 21 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) leading the
hematology/oncology, neurology, and virology franchises. In these
roles, she led portfolio planning, brand and franchise commercial
strategy, and supported Research and Development and Corporate
Business Development decisions. Ms. Finger also served as Managing
Director of BMS Australia/New Zealand and has managed country,
regional, and global P&Ls. Previously, she was chair of the
Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Gene Therapy Section and served
on the Executive Board of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine
Foundation. She also was a member of the board for The Medicines
Australia Industry Association, and a member of the Pharmaceutical
Strategic Working Group for the Australia Senator for Industry and
Innovation. Ms. Finger earned her B.A. from St. Lawrence University
and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
About Michael Rice
Mr. Rice has deep experience in portfolio
management, investment banking, and capital markets. He is a
Founding Partner at LifeSci Partners. Prior to founding LifeSci,
Michael was the co-head of Health Care Investment Banking at
Canaccord Adams, where he was involved in debt and equity
financing. Mr. Rice was also a Managing Director at Think Equity
Partners, where he was responsible for managing Healthcare Capital
Markets, which included structuring and executing numerous
transactions. Prior to that, he served as a Managing Director at
Bank of America serving large hedge funds and private equity
healthcare funds while working closely with Investment Banking.
Previously, he was a Managing Director at JP Morgan/Hambrecht &
Quist. He graduated from the University of Maryland and currently
sits on the board of 9 Meters Biopharma Inc.
About the OVAL
Study
(NCT03398655)OVAL is an
international Phase 3 randomized pivotal registration enabling
clinical trial that compares a combination of VB-111 and paclitaxel
to placebo plus paclitaxel, in patients with platinum resistant
ovarian cancer. The study is planned to enroll approximately 400
patients. OVAL is conducted in collaboration with the GOG
Foundation, Inc., an independent international non-profit
organization with the purpose of promoting excellence in the field
of gynecologic malignancies.
About VB-111
(ofranergene obadenovec)VB-111 is an
investigational anti-cancer gene-therapy agent that is being
developed to treat a wide range of solid tumors. VB-111 is a unique
biologic agent that is designed to use a dual mechanism to target
solid tumors. Its mechanism combines blockade of tumor vasculature
with an anti-tumor immune response. VB-111 is administered as an IV
infusion once every 6-8 weeks. It has been observed to be
well-tolerated in >300 cancer patients and demonstrated activity
signals in an “all comers” Phase 1 trial as well as in three
tumor-specific Phase 2 studies. VB-111 has received an Orphan
Designation for the treatment of ovarian cancer from
the European Commission. VB-111 has also received orphan drug
designation in both the US and Europe, and fast track
designation in the US, for prolongation of survival in patients
with recurrent glioblastoma. VB-111 demonstrated proof-of-concept
and survival benefit in Phase 2 clinical trials in
radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer and recurrent
platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (NCT01711970).
About VBL
TherapeuticsVascular Biogenics Ltd., operating
as VBL Therapeutics, is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization
of first-in-class treatments for areas of unmet need in cancer and
immune/inflammatory indications. VBL Therapeutics has developed
three platform technologies: a gene-therapy based technology for
targeting newly formed blood vessels with focus on cancer, an
antibody-based technology targeting MOSPD2 for anti-inflammatory
and immuno-oncology applications, and the Lecinoxoids, a family of
small-molecules for immune-related indications. VBL Therapeutics’s
lead oncology product candidate, ofranergene obadenovec (VB-111),
is an investigational, first-in-class, targeted anti-cancer
gene-therapy agent that is being developed to treat a wide range of
solid tumors. VB-111 is currently being studied in a VBL
Therapeutics-sponsored Phase 3 potential registration trial for
platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
CONTACT:Burns McClellan for VBL
TherapeuticsLee Roth (investors) / Ryo Imai
(media)lroth@burnsmc.com / rimai@burnsmc.com +1-212-213-0006
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