CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Mersana, a cancer therapeutics company, announced today that Timothy B. Lowinger, Ph.D., has joined the company as Chief Scientific Officer.
"We are thrilled that Tim is now a part of the Mersana team," said Julie A. Olson, President and CEO at Mersana. "His extensive leadership in oncology research and his experience with polymer-based drug systems are an ideal match for Mersana. In addition to the important impact he will have on our newest programs, his contributions toward advancing our lead product, XMT-1001, and our second product, XMT-1107, will be significant."
Dr. Lowinger has over fifteen years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and brings a wealth of international experience to his new role in leading our Research team. From 1993 to 2007, Dr. Lowinger held a number of positions at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in the US, Germany, and Japan, where he contributed to the discovery of more than 15 pre-clinical and clinical candidates in a variety of indications. Most notably, he led the team that discovered and advanced Nexavar(R) (sorafenib), an anti-cancer agent that is approved for indications including renal and hepatocellular cancer, with Phase III studies underway in non-small-cell lung and other cancers. Later, as the VP and Department Head of Chemistry Research in West Haven, he managed a department of scientists in the disciplines of medicinal, analytical, computational, combinatorial and synthetic chemistry, focused on the discovery and clinical proof-of-concept of new therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, diabetes and obesity. He has most recently been VP of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Angiotech Pharmaceuticals where he managed a multidisciplinary team of scientists focused on developing polymer-based pharmaceutical products for local administration as well as medical devices incorporating pharmaceutical agents. Dr. Lowinger has a BSc in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
About Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.
Mersana, a privately held, venture backed company, utilizes its proprietary nanotechnology platform to transform existing and experimental anti-cancer agents into new, patentable drugs with superior pharmaceutical properties. The key component of Mersana's platform is Fleximer(R), a novel, biodegradable and bio-inert polymer that can be chemically linked to small molecules and biologics. Mersana's pipeline includes XMT-1001, a Fleximer-camptothecin conjugate which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials, and several preclinical oncology compounds. Mersana's investors include Fidelity Biosciences, ProQuest Investments, Rho Ventures, Harris & Harris Group and PureTech Ventures.
Fleximer(R) is a trademark of Mersana Therapeutics, Inc.