FOSTER CITY, Calif., Feb. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Notable, which is redefining cancer treatment with a clinically validated platform that rapidly advances cancer drug development at a fraction of traditional costs, announced today that it has expanded its management team with the addition of two seasoned biopharma executives: Hiroomi Tada has joined as Chief Medical Officer, overseeing Notable’s clinical operations; and Lloyd Mackenzie will be joining as Chief Development Officer, responsible for identifying drug development opportunities where Notable can deliver a meaningful impact for patients.
Tada, a specialist in translational science and clinical drug development, was most recently VP Targeted Therapies, Translational Sciences at Incyte Corporation, where he lead investigations of Incyte’s large targeted therapy portfolio in oncology. Prior to that, he was Medical Director, Oncology Clinical Development at GlaxoSmithKline and Director, Clinical Research at AstraZeneca. Tada is an M.D. who also has a PhD in Molecular Biology.
Mackenzie has 24 years of industry experience. He was most recently Chief Operating Officer and Vice President R&D Operations at Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he spent 11 years in research and development, driving strategic leadership and oversight of planning and execution of non-clinical operations; chemistry, manufacturing and controls; quality assurance and clinical operations. Prior to Aquinox, he was a research scientist at QLT Inc. and Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Mackenzie completed a BS degree in biochemistry from Simon Fraser University and conducted postgraduate studies in biochemistry and chemistry at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of 15 scientific publications and is an inventor on several patents.
“Notable is growing quickly, and attracting an experienced executive team to guide and accelerate our success has been a top priority,” said Matt De Silva, co-founder and CEO of Notable. “We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to recruit such a high caliber of candidates – it’s a testament to the quality of our existing team, the rapid progress we’ve made validating our platform, and our deep commitment to our mission of finding new ways to bring treatments to patients faster.”
Tada said, "I’m thrilled to be joining such an innovative and patient-centric team. Notable's testing platform is truly a precision medicine approach to individualize cancer care, and has the potential to change the way treatment decisions are made. As someone who has made a career in patient care and cancer research, I’m excited with the opportunity to come to Notable. I am looking forward to working with Matt and the talented team he has brought together to bring this technology into the clinic."
“Even in a field as dynamic as cancer drug development, Notable stands out for its unique approach,” said Mackenzie. “I’ve been watching the company since it launched, and I was really excited to have the opportunity to come on board to help shape the direction of its growth.”
Notable’s custom-built automated laboratory leverages AI technology to rapidly evaluate thousands of drug combinations on cancer cells relative to healthy cells. The lab then generates a report that prioritizes the drugs that are most specifically active against cancer cells. The first validation trials have been in blood cancers due to the accessibility and large number of cancer cells available for testing.
In testing, Notable has achieved an 84% overall accuracy in predicting patient response to drugs or drug combinations. The company’s approach has been clinically validated in multiple independent studies conducted by Stanford, MD Anderson, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, UC San Francisco, and Rady’s Children’s Hospital, among others.
Notable not only helps evaluate the effectiveness of drugs and drug combinations, but can also identify certain types of cancers that aren’t responding to existing drugs. Notable can then develop its own therapies or apply combinations of existing drugs to address those unmet market needs. Notable’s first program, entering clinical trials in 2019, is targeted towards b-cell malignancies that relapse after antibody or CAR-T cell immunotherapy.
About Notable
Notable is redefining cancer treatment with a clinically validated platform that rapidly advances cancer drug development at a fraction of traditional costs. Notable’s approach determines which drugs or combination of drugs will be most effective for specific types of cancers, which targets the right patients for clinical trials. The resulting high response rates in those trials can accelerate the process, eliminating much of the time and cost in later-stage trials, and helping to get drugs to market years faster at a lower cost to patients. Learn more at https://notablelabs.com/ or follow @notablelabs.
Contact:
Kerry Metzdorf
978-609-0766
kerry@big-swing.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4d2199eb-240e-499c-8e30-d7dd160dd7a2