NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Candel Therapeutics, Inc., a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel oncolytic viral immunotherapies, today announced it has appointed Diem Nguyen, Ph.D., M.B.A., to its Board of Directors. The Company also announced that Carrie S. Cox will be stepping down as Chairman and member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately, due to a limitation on the number of her public company board commitments, and will continue to serve as a Special Advisor to the CEO. Paul Manning will assume the role of Chairman.
Dr. Nguyen is an established leader in the pharmaceutical industry, with more than 25 years of experience spanning multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to her current role as CEO of Xalud Therapeutics, a clinical stage gene therapy biotechnology company, Dr. Nguyen served as Executive Vice President of Biopharma for PPD, Inc., a leading global clinical research organization. Before PPD, Dr. Nguyen held a series of senior leadership positions at Pfizer last serving as Global President, Americas, Pfizer Essential Health and Global Sterile Injectables, where she was responsible for commercial businesses in the U.S., Latin America, Canada, and Puerto Rico with more than $11 billion in annual revenues and led a cross-functional team with direct-line reporting for more than 5,000 commercial colleagues and manufacturing across multiple geographic sites. Additionally, Dr. Nguyen spearheaded the de novo creation of the Biosimilars business within Pfizer.
“Diem’s vast experience leading commercial businesses is extraordinary as she has generated success for countless companies across a wide range of therapeutic areas,” said Paul Peter Tak, M.D., Ph.D., FMedSci, President and Chief Executive Officer of Candel Therapeutics. “We look forward to Diem’s ongoing guidance and support on our Board as we continue to progress our late-stage pipeline of oncolytic viral immunotherapies. At the same time, we deeply appreciate Carrie’s leadership during her time as Chairman, and our team will continue to value her contributions through her new special advisory role.”
Ms. Cox added, “I am pleased with the advances the Candel team has made during my time on the Board of Directors. I know this momentum will continue with the addition of Dr. Nguyen, whose valuable expertise and collaboration will help progress the Company’s ongoing programs. I look forward to my continued involvement with Candel as we drive its exciting next phase of growth.”
Dr. Nguyen further commented, “The unmet needs of cancer patients are vast, and the work Candel is progressing across multiple disease targets is inspiring. I am proud to join the Board and am eager to work alongside the leadership team and additional Board members to help bring potential therapeutics to these patients with cancer.”
Dr. Nguyen currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Verrica Pharmaceuticals, Vitara, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Virginia (UVA), as well as an M.B.A. from UVA’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.
About Candel Therapeutics
Candel is a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on helping patients fight cancer with oncolytic viral immunotherapies. Our engineered viruses are designed to induce immunogenic cell death through direct viral-mediated cytotoxicity in cancer cells, thus releasing tumor neo-antigens and creating a pro-inflammatory microenvironment at the site of injection. Our approach combines an in-depth knowledge of viral immunotherapy with extensive clinical experience across a wide range of indications. Based on the broad range of data that we have generated from our preclinical models and clinical trials using our approach, we have observed what we believe to be a systemic immune response against locally injected tumors and their distant metastases. To learn more, visit www.candeltx.com.
