Venn Therapeutics, a privately held immuno-oncology company focused on developing novel early stage cancer therapies, announces the hiring of Dr. Jim Leahy as the Head of Medicinal Chemistry. Dr. Leahy previously spent 14 years at Exelixis as the Senior Director of Chemistry. While there, he oversaw the discovery of more than a dozen compounds that entered clinical trials. To date, his work has resulted in 3 FDA approved cancer drugs as well as many candidates that are still in late stage clinical trials.
Dr. Leahy began his career as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He completed his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of South Florida and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Jim Leahy is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of South Florida and a member of the Florida Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery and Innovation (CDDI) with an appointment in the Department of Molecular Medicine in the Morsani College of Medicine and will continue to hold these positions.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Leahy join our growing team at Venn. Few people can claim that their years of hard work resulted in an FDA approved cancer drug. Dr. Leahy is part of that very small club,” says Venn CEO, Sam Shrivastava. “His experience will be vital as we develop novel oncology assets such as STING agonists and β-catenin small molecule inhibitor program and move them into the clinic. We are stronger company today with Dr. Leahy leading our clinical development efforts.”
“Venn Therapeutics is at the innovative center of immuno-oncology focusing on turning cold tumors hot,” notes Dr. Leahy. “I am delighted to have an opportunity to work with Sam and the Venn Therapeutics team to help develop and deliver novel anticancer agents.”
For more information about Venn Therapeutics, please visit:
http://venntherapeutics.com/home.html
About Venn Therapeutics:
Venn Therapeutics is an immuno-oncology company focused on developing novel, best-in-class drugs such as a STING agonist and β-catenin inhibitors, which transform tumor-resident innate immune cells to an anti-tumor phenotype reversing the immunosuppressive microenvironment found within tumors. Venn believes this approach will expand the number of patients who can be effectively treated with immuno-oncology modalities such as PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors. For more information visit www.VennTherapeutics.com
For investor relations, please contact, Dr. David Sobek at 225-284-4308 or David@VennTherapeutics.com
Venn Therapeutics
3802 Spectrum Blvd., Suite 155
Tampa Bay, FL 33612