CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Immunitas Therapeutics (Immunitas), an innovative single cell genomics discovery platform company focused on developing breakthrough immuno-oncology therapies, today announced it has appointed Jeffrey M. Goldberg as Chief Executive Officer and Director. He succeeds founding CEO, Christoph Westphal, M.D, Ph.D., who assumes the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

One of the central challenges of drug development has been bridging the gap between laboratory research in model organisms to meaningful clinical advances in humans, said Jeff Goldberg. Immunitas and our scientific co-founders use single cell genomic sequencing and sophisticated computational biology techniques to look at human biology directly. I believe this innovative approach can help to accelerate the development of new therapies for patients. I am excited to be joining the Immunitas team as we discover and develop these highly targeted new immuno-oncology therapies.

Immunitas identifies novel, promising oncology targets with potential applicability across both solid and liquid tumors. Additionally, as part of the discovery process, Immunitas develops key biomarkers to guide the selection of patients who may benefit from its new drugs. The company leverages its expertise in antibody discovery and engineering to create therapies that modulate these targets. Immunitas is currently advancing a number of programs toward early human studies, including a lead program with fully-human monoclonal antibodies that will be developed as single agents using a clinical biomarker strategy to guide early efficacy studies.

Jeff Goldberg has over 20 years of industry experience driving programs from discovery through all phases of drug development to commercialization in multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, renal, and rare diseases, said Lea Hachigian, President and Director, Immunitas Therapeutics. We are fortunate to have his demonstrated ability leading and building teams as we create an oncology company powered by our human biology-focused approach to immunology.

Mr. Goldberg joins the Immunitas Board of Directors, which includes Dr. Laura Brass, Managing Director at Novartis Venture Fund, Dr. Jrgen Eckhardt, Head of Leaps by Bayer, Bayers strategic venture capital unit, Dr. Lea Hachigian, Principal, Longwood Fund, Dr. Lucio Iannone, Director of Venture Investments of Leaps by Bayer, Dr. Christoph Westphal, co-founder and General Partner of Longwood Fund, and Dr. Vincent Xiang, Managing Director at Hillhouse Capital.

Jeff Goldberg is an experienced biotech program and brand leader with over 20 years of industry experience. He has driven programs from discovery and pre-clinical through IND, clinical trials, NDA, and commercialization in multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, renal, and other rare and orphan diseases. Mr. Goldberg joins Immunitas from Akcea Therapeutics, where he was Chief Operating Officer from the time of its formation in January 2015. Previously, Mr. Goldberg was VP of Business Operations, leading both program management and business development at Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc., a biotech company focusing on neurology and rare diseases. He also spent more than 11 years in positions of increasing responsibility with Genzyme and Sanofi, providing brand management for two marketed products within Sanofi Oncology. Prior to joining Sanofi Oncology, Mr. Goldberg served as Global Program Lead for Genzyme's stem cell mobilization agent Mozobil, leading the global launch team and overseeing the program management and marketing functions for the product. He began his career at Genzyme as Director, Program Management overseeing the development and launch of Renvela in patients undergoing dialysis. Mr. Goldberg has both an MBA and a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University.

About Immunitas Therapeutics

Immunitas Therapeutics, founded by Longwood Fund, employs a single cell genomics platform to dissect the biology of immune cells in human tumors, thereby advancing discoveries directly from the bench into meaningful clinical improvements. Our focus on human data allows us to start with and stay closer to the biology that is most relevant in patients and greatly accelerates the pace of our research. The Immunitas team of scientific pioneers innovates around each step of the drug development process, first identifying novel targets, then designing therapeutic strategies, and developing key biomarkers to guide the selection of patients who may benefit from our new drugs. Lead programs from this platform have demonstrated single agent activity against challenging tumors and fully-human monoclonal antibodies are advancing towards clinical studies. http://www.ImmunitasTx.com.

Immunitas the human approach to oncology

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Jeffrey Goldberg Appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director of Immunitas Therapeutics - Business Wire