John Edwards
PanTher Therapeutics a clinical-stage oncology company developing high-dose, long-lasting, localized treatments for cancer, announced that John Edwards has been appointed as the Executive Chair of the Board of Directors.
Laura Indolfi, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of PanTher
“John has been an outstanding addition to our Board and management team since joining the company in September. We look forward to further benefiting from his experience as we continue to advance our lead program, PTM-101, into later stage clinical trials. John has successfully guided many biotech companies through key stages in their evolution and he is a tremendous resource for our organization.”
Experience
John Edwards brings over 35 years of experience in discovery, development, and global commercialization of biopharmaceuticals to PanTher. His experience includes involvement with ten FDA approved biologics and eight biotech companies with successful exits, including Tilos Therapeutics, Siamab, Adnexus, F-star and Genetics Institute. Most recently, John held the role of Executive Chair and CEO at Abcuro, where he transformed the small preclinical-stage company into a well-funded organization with a highly experienced C-suite, and advanced its lead program into a phase III clinical trial.
During his time as Executive Chair at Tilos, he helped the company from founding to acquisition by Merck in just two years. While at F-star, John helped grow the company from discovery-stage into to a leading clinical-stage developer of bispecific antibodies, raising over $230M in non-dilutive capital, including several asset-based M&A transactions. Under his guidance as COO, Adnexus evolved from a start-up to a $450M acquisition by BMS within 4 years; he then continued as President of the company for three years. Early in his career, John was Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Medical Affairs at Transkaryotic Therapies and had a 15-year tenure with Genetics Institute/Wyeth, during which time he built what has become a >$1B global pharmaceutical business in hematology. He received his MBA from Boston University and his BS in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Mr. Edwards Replied
“I am very impressed with PanTher’s lead program and therapeutic platform, which I feel has the potential to be transformative for the treatment of locally advanced, solid tumors. PanTher’s approach combines established cancer treatments, whose dosing is limited by toxicity, with their technology that enables continuous, high-dose, delivery to the tumor. In doing so, drug levels at the site of a tumor are >100 fold higher than what is currently possible, leading to more effective treatments without unwanted dose-limiting systemic side effects. This unlocks the full potential of potent therapeutic agents to more effectively treat cancer. I am excited to work with Laura, the management team, and Board to help guide the company’s future direction as it prepares to enter phase 1b clinical trials with its lead program.”