SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tempest Therapeutics Inc., a development-stage biotechnology company advancing small molecules that modulate anti-tumor immunity pathways, today announced that Ginna Laport, M.D., joined the company as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Laport brings significant expertise in hematology, oncology and clinical drug development, and will lead the evaluation and clinical development of Tempest’s portfolio of novel first-in-class drug candidates in patients with advanced malignancies.
“We are very excited to welcome Ginna to the Tempest team. She has an impressive academic and biotech pedigree together with a track record of advancing multiple modalities of cancer therapeutics. Ginna will be integral in the transition of Tempest into a clinical-stage biotechnology company in 2019,” said CEO Tom Dubensky, Ph.D.
Prior to joining Tempest, Dr. Laport served as vice president of clinical development at Corvus Pharmaceuticals, where she led the clinical development of small molecules and antibodies targeting the adenosine pathway to treat advanced solid tumors. Additionally, Dr. Laport was a member of the Executive Committee and oversaw clinical development and operations.
Before Corvus, Dr. Laport was faculty in the Stanford University School of Medicine, most recently as professor of medicine in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT). Her research focused on adoptive immunotherapies for malignant diseases and she served as director of clinical research in the BMT Division and as an associate director of the Stanford Cancer Institute. Prior to Stanford, Dr. Laport was an assistant professor in hematology/oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Laport served on the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC), was national chair of the NIH-sponsored BMT Clinical Trials Network that directs multicenter clinical trials, and has co-authored over 80 publications.
Dr. Laport received her M.D. from the University of Texas-Houston and a B.A. from Baylor University. She completed her internal medicine residency and fellowship in hematology/oncology at The University of Chicago.
In addition, Tempest has promoted Dr. Alicia Levey to Chief Business Officer. Dr. Levey previously was Tempest’s VP of business development and strategy. Prior to Tempest, she was VP of business development at Inception Sciences, a small molecule drug discovery company formed in collaboration with Versant Ventures, a global venture capital firm focused primarily on early stage investing and biotechnology company creation.
Dr. Levey is an operating principal at Versant where she has led the diligence on multiple deals including several that have been acquired or are now public. She holds a Ph.D. from the Stanford University School of Medicine.
“We are delighted to have Alicia in the CBO role,” said Dr. Dubensky. “She has been a critical component in establishing Tempest and has a deep track record of successful business development.”
About Tempest Therapeutics
Tempest Therapeutics is a development-stage biotechnology company advancing small molecules that modulate anti-tumor immunity pathways. The company has a balanced and deep pipeline consisting of first-in-class and potential best-in-class small molecule therapeutics that modulate distinct immune response pathways relevant to mounting an effective anti-tumor response. Tempest’s backers include Versant Ventures, F-Prime Capital, Quan Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, Foresite Capital and Eight Roads Ventures.
