SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harpoon Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel T-cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, announced today that it has appointed Susan Dana Jones, Ph.D., to the position of senior vice president, product development and Rachael Lester to vice president, corporate development.
"I am delighted to welcome Dr. Jones and Ms. Lester to the Harpoon management team. Both Susan and Rachael bring significant biopharmaceutical experience and will play important roles as Harpoon advances its lead program, HPN424, to clinical development in 2018," said Jerry McMahon, Ph.D., CEO. "With a strong background in process development and biopharmaceutical manufacturing, Susan will manage the development product portfolio including drug supply and IND submissions. In addition, Rachael's substantial corporate strategy experience will be instrumental as she leads new partnership initiatives for our expanding product portfolio and platform technologies, as well as manages the company's recently announced partnership with AbbVie."
Dr. Jones brings more than 30 years of experience to her position, including her role as vice president and principal consultant of BioProcess Technology Consultants (BPTC) for the last 16 years, where she leads manufacturing for advancement of product candidates from early discovery through all stages of clinical development. She has previously served as senior vice president of corporate development at Serenex, vice president of product development at Waratah Pharmaceuticals, and vice president, technology strategy at Dyax Corp. Dr. Jones received her Bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Harvard University, holds a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California, San Francisco, and performed post-doctoral research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard Medical School.
Ms. Lester brings nearly 20 years of experience in corporate and commercial strategy, business development and commercial operations. Most recently, as vice president of product & marketing for Bruin Biometrics, she led the commercialization of SEM Scanner®, and drove ongoing R&D collaborations and partnerships. Previously, Lester served as global head of strategic asset management at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for portfolio management, strategic finance, and various corporate strategy and development initiatives through the sale to Amgen for $10.4B. At Deloitte Consulting, she held a leading role in the Life Sciences Strategy & Operations practice as a thought leader and advisor to biotech clients on growth strategy, L,M&A, and new product planning & commercialization. Lester received a B.A. in neuroscience from University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
About Harpoon Therapeutics
Harpoon Therapeutics is an immuno-oncology company founded by Patrick Baeuerle, Ph.D., a pioneer in the development of T-cell engaging therapies, and MPM Capital. The company is focused on the discovery and development of novel T-cell engaging biologics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Harpoon Therapeutics created a novel T-cell recruiting drug discovery platform called TriTAC (tri-specific T-cell activating construct) to unleash the targeted cell-killing properties of a patient's own immune system through T-cell activation. This approach is being optimized to penetrate tissues and extend serum exposure, and has the potential to address a broad range of cancers, including solid tumors, and immunologic diseases. HPN424, a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeting TriTAC biologic, is in development for the treatment of prostate cancer and is expected to enter a clinical trial in 2018. For more information, please visit www.harpoontx.com.