PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Context Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the treatment of hormone-responsive cancers, today announced two key additions to its board of directors.
Philip Kantoff, MD, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has been appointed to Context Therapeutics’ board of directors, bringing more than 30 years of leadership in clinical oncology practice, research and drug development.
Elizabeth McKee Anderson has also been appointed to Context’s board of directors, bringing more than 30 years of industry leadership in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and a proven record of success in global product launches and portfolio value creation.
“Today marks a major step forward for Context as we transform from an early to clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company,” said CEO and Co-Founder Martin Lehr. “We are honored to add the experience and leadership that Dr. Kantoff and Ms. Anderson bring to Context. We, and ultimately our patients, will benefit from the clinical and strategic input that our new directors will provide. Dr. Kantoff is widely regarded as one of the leading cancer researchers in the world. Ms. Anderson has been successful in building companies and portfolios in many therapeutic areas, including oncology, and her advice will help propel Context through its next stage of growth.”
“I look forward to working with Context and helping the company advance its strategy to develop drugs to treat hormone-responsive cancers. This is an area of significant unmet need,” stated Dr. Kantoff.
“I am excited to join Context’s board and bring my extensive strategic and portfolio-building experience to Context as it continues to grow,” said Ms. Anderson. “I look forward to working with the management team and other board members to advance the Company’s mission of discovering, developing and marketing groundbreaking cancer treatments to patients around the world, eliminating the fear that comes with a cancer diagnosis.”
About Dr. Kantoff
Dr. Kantoff currently serves as the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and as the Chairman of the Prostate Cancer Foundation Global Research Council. As Chairman of the Department of Medicine at MSKCC, he oversees a department of over 400 physicians and physician scientists who care for cancer patients and the development and testing of better cancer therapies. Dr. Kantoff focuses his clinical activities in caring for patients with prostate and testicular cancers and his laboratory efforts involve understanding the molecular basis of prostate cancer including mechanisms of resistance to hormonal therapy and genetic determinants of aggressive disease. As Chairman of the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s (PCF) Global Research Council, Dr. Kantoff advises the leadership of PCF on a wide variety of matters concerning scientific program policy and progress and future direction of the PCF’s research programs and research enterprise in the areas of basic, translational, clinical science and epidemiology. Dr. Kantoff received his undergraduate degree and medical degree from Brown University and was chief resident in Internal Medicine at New York University Hospital/Bellevue Hospital. He spent four years at the National Institutes of Health conducting research in retroviral mediated gene transfer and gene therapy. He completed his medical oncology fellowship training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in 1987. Dr. Kantoff was the Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Chair at Harvard Medical School and served as Director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, Chief of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, Vice Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology, and Chair of the Executive Committee on Clinical Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
About Ms. Anderson
Ms. Anderson held senior leadership positions at Janssen Pharmaceuticals and other Johnson & Johnson companies between 2003 and her retirement in 2014. She most recently served as Worldwide Vice President, Infectious Disease and Vaccines for Janssen, where she directed the commercial development of an extensive portfolio of antivirals and vaccines, and shaped and executed therapeutic area strategies including licensing and acquisitions. Previously, Ms. Anderson directed the pre-launch commercialization and life cycle management for key brands and assets in the Immunology, Oncology and Anemia franchises. Prior to Johnson & Johnson, Ms. Anderson served as the Vice President and General Manager of Wyeth Lederle Vaccines from 1997 to 2002, growing that business unit to over $1 Billion in sales and launching the first-in-class Prevnar vaccine. She currently serves on the boards of directors of two other oncology companies, REVOLUTION Medicines, Inc. and Bavarian Nordic A/S, as well as Insmed, Inc., Aro Biotherapeutics Inc and Huntsworth plc. Ms. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Rutgers University and a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University Maryland.
About Progesterone Receptor Antagonism
Context is developing Apristor®, a first-in-class orally-bioavailable progesterone receptor (PR) antagonist for PR+ breast cancer. Up to 60% of breast cancer patients are believed to be PR+. Apristor is an investigational medicine that has completed Phase 1 development and will be further evaluated in an upcoming randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial in second-line metastatic breast cancer patients who are PR+ and have failed prior antiestrogen therapeutic with the addition of a Cdk4/6 inhibitor.
About Context Therapeutics
Context Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to creating new medicines to treat hormone-responsive cancers. Context’s lead program is Apristor (onapristone extended release), an investigational Phase 2 drug that is being developed for progesterone receptor positive (PR+) metastatic breast cancers. In addition, Context is advancing a discovery-stage program targeting Sigma1. For more information on Context, visit www.contexttherapeutics.com.