SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lycia Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in extracellular protein degradation, today announced the recent appointment of Steve Staben, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to joining Lycia, Dr. Staben spent over 14 years at Genentech leading drug discovery programs in oncology and immunology as well as new modality platforms.
Lycia is using its next-generation degradation approach to target the untapped extracellular proteome, including cell surface receptors and secreted proteins. The company’s lysosomal targeting chimeras, or LYTAC, platform can be extended to several therapeutic modalities, including antibodies and small molecules, with the potential to inhibit many targets previously considered intractable across a spectrum of therapeutic areas and diseases. Lycia continues to advance its internal undisclosed discovery pipeline of LYTAC degraders.
“We are building a team of passionate, results-driven inventors of medicine. Steve models this enthusiasm and dedication, and we’re thrilled to have him helm our scientific organization,” said Aetna Wun Trombley, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at Lycia. “Steve’s expertise advancing new modality platforms across therapeutic areas is a perfect match for Lycia. I look forward to working closely with him as we advance our lead programs and continue to mine the broad potential of our LYTAC degradation platform.”
Dr. Staben commented, “The extracellular proteome has remained an area of untapped exploration for protein degradation given the limitations of first-generation platforms. The possibilities that could be unlocked by our LYTAC degraders is tremendously exciting, with numerous potential opportunities to help address currently intractable targets. I’m honored to be part of the Lycia team, and I look forward to helping build a company that embodies scientific excellence and is unwaveringly motivated by the promise to help patients.”
Dr. Staben’s basic research interests include new mechanisms for modulation of therapeutic targets, including applications of induced proximity. He has co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed articles and patent applications and holds his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
Other members of Lycia’s leadership team include Christian Hofmann, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer, who joined Lycia from the Partnering group with Roche/Genentech; Jason Lewis, Ph.D., Vice President and Head of Chemistry, who formerly served as Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry at Ardelyx; Darrin Lindhout, Ph.D., Executive Director and Head of Biologics, who most recently served as Director, Protein Sciences at NGM Biopharmaceuticals; and Sarah McWhirter, Ph.D., Vice President and Head of Biology, who previously served as Executive Director of Research and Translational Medicine at Aduro Biotech. Link here to view full biographies of Lycia’s management team.
About Lycia Therapeutics
Lycia Therapeutics is a biotechnology company using its proprietary lysosomal targeting chimeras (LYTACs) platform to discover and develop first-in-class therapeutics that degrade extracellular and membrane-bound proteins that drive a range of difficult-to-treat diseases, including cancers and autoimmune conditions. Headquartered in South San Francisco, Lycia was established in 2019 within founding investor Versant Ventures’ Inception Therapeutics Discovery Engine in collaboration with academic founder Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and HHMI investigator at Stanford University. For more information, please visit www.lyciatx.com.
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