Kiadis Pharma appoints Dr. Andrew Sandler as Chief Medical Officer
AMSTERDAM-DUIVENDRECHT, The Netherlands–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Regulatory News:
Kiadis Pharma N.V.
(“Kiadis Pharma” or the “Company”) (Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels: KDS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products to make bone marrow transplantations safer and more effective for patients suffering from blood cancers and inherited blood disorders, today announces the appointment of Dr. Andrew Sandler as Chief Medical Officer (CMO), effective October 1, 2017. Dr. Sandler will take over the role from Dr. Jeroen Rovers who will work closely with Dr. Sandler until the end of 2017, as part of a planned transition.
Dr. Sandler will be a member of the Executive Management Team and will oversee the overall medical function and strategy of the Company, including clinical development, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance and medical affairs.
Dr. Sandler has over 20 years of experience within the healthcare industry, dedicated to hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. He has served as the senior medical executive in multiple global NASDAQ listed oncology companies. Most recently, Dr. Sandler was Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs, at Medivation (now part of Pfizer). Prior to that he was CMO at Dendreon Pharmaceuticals and Spectrum Pharma. He has also held senior-level positions with several other leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer Healthcare, Berlex and Seattle Genetics. Dr. Sandler obtained his MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York and completed a fellowship in medical oncology at University of California San Francisco. A US citizen, Dr. Sandler is a board certified medical oncologist and has treated many patients with hematologic malignancies, including bone marrow transplant patients.
Arthur Lahr, CEO of Kiadis Pharma, commented:
“I am delighted to welcome Dr. Andrew Sandler to Kiadis Pharma. Andrew’s vast experience and track record of guiding late-stage oncology and cell therapy products through registration and launch in Europe and the US will be of immense value. He will be instrumental in further building recognition for and adoption of ATIR101™ in the medical community, and allow us to create a strong presence in the US.
“Combined with the appointment of Jan Feijen as Chief Operations Officer and former Actelion COO Otto Schwarz joining our Supervisory Board, we now have a seasoned leadership team of the highest caliber to bring this unique orphan drug to patients.
“I would like to express our gratitude to Jeroen Rovers for his significant contributions to Kiadis Pharma, as evidenced by the European Marketing Authorization Application and FDA RMAT designation for ATIR101™.”
Andrew Sandler, commented:
“I am very excited to join Kiadis Pharma at this crucial time in the Company’s growth. I look forward to guiding ATIR101™ through the next stages of its development, with the goal of bringing this innovative treatment to patients in Europe and the US. I have a personal passion for the field of oncology and I truly believe ATIR101™ can address a huge unmet medical need for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem-cell transplantations.”
About Kiadis Pharma
Kiadis Pharma is focused on cell-based immunotherapy products, as an adjunctive to a haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), for the treatment of blood cancers and inherited blood disorders. The Company’s product candidates have the potential to make allogeneic HSCT safer and more effective for patients.
Based on the positive results from the single dose Phase II trial with lead product ATIR101™ in patients with blood cancer, the Company submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in April 2017, for approval of ATIR101™ across the European Union as an adjunctive treatment in HSCT for malignant disease. In addition, Kiadis Pharma has received regulatory approval in various countries to start dosing patients in a Phase III trial with ATIR101™ that will be performed across Europe and North America. ATIR101™ has been granted Orphan Drug Designations both in the US and Europe. In September 2017 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted ATIR101™ the Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation.
The Company’s second product candidate, ATIR201™, will address beta thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder.
Kiadis Pharma was granted an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) certificate for manufacturing quality and non-clinical data by the EMA.
The Company’s shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels.
Company website: www.kiadis.com
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect Kiadis Pharma’s or, as appropriate, Kiadis Pharma’s directors’ current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, Kiadis Pharma expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither Kiadis Pharma nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person’s officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Contacts
Kiadis Pharma:
Karl Hård, +31 611 096 298
Head of IR & Communications
k.hard@kiadis.com
or
Consilium Strategic Communications:
Mary-Jane Elliott, Philippa Gardner, Lindsey Neville, Hendrik Thys, +44 203 709 5708
kiadis@consilium-comms.com