LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cyteir Therapeutics, Inc. (“Cyteir”) (Nasdaq:CYT), a company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation synthetically lethal therapies for cancer, today announced the appointment of Dr. Jeffrey S. Humphrey, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Magenta Therapeutics to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Humphrey is an accomplished clinical researcher and drug developer who has shepherded numerous drugs through all phases of development from pre-IND to post-launch. He is also experienced at building clinical research capabilities at several biotechnology companies.
“Jeff’s background and drug development expertise perfectly align with our mission at Cyteir to develop next-generation synthetically lethal therapies to treat cancer. On behalf of our entire board, we are excited to welcome Jeff and look forward to his contributions as we advance CYT-0851 and our next-generation portfolio,” said Markus Renschler, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cyteir.
Dr. Jeffrey Humphrey is currently Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Magenta Therapeutics in charge of clinical development of Magenta’s pipeline of drugs to improve mobilization of stem cells and conditioning for stem cell transplants. Dr. Humphrey was previously CMO of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, recently acquired by Morphosys, directing development of drugs that modify epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Dr. Humphrey began his career in clinical research and development at Bristol-Myers Squibb and subsequently served in management positions for early- and late-stage drug development and medical affairs at Pfizer, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Kyowa Kirin where he was Chief Development Officer. He has contributed to the global registration of leading cancer drugs, including Nexavar®, Erbitux®, Sprycel®, and Yervoy®.
Dr. Humphrey is a graduate of Harvard College and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and held post-doctoral fellowships in human genetics and medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute, with board-certification in internal medicine and medical oncology.
“I am delighted to join the board of Cyteir Therapeutics at such an important time for the company and the portfolio,” said Dr. Humphrey. “I believe CYT-0851 has the potential to be used both as a monotherapy and broadly in combination with other therapeutic approaches. I look forward to working with the Cyteir team to bring CYT-0851 forward.”
Karen Hong, PhD, a partner at Novo Ventures, has tendered her resignation from the Cyteir board upon Dr. Humphrey’s appointment. “I’d also like to thank Karen for her service and contributions to Cyteir. She joined the board in 2019 during our Series B financing and has been an important champion for our company,” said Dr. Renschler.
About Cyteir Therapeutics, Inc.
Cyteir is a clinical-stage oncology company that is focused on the discovery and development of next-generation synthetically lethal therapies to treat cancer. The company is using its expertise in DNA damage response biology to advance a pipeline of novel drug candidates that selectively target key cancer vulnerabilities. Cyteir’s wholly owned lead compound, CYT-0851, is a potent and selective, oral investigational drug that was designed to inhibit RAD51-mediated homologous recombination and the repair of double-strand DNA breaks.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” regarding Cyteir’s expected pipeline developments and the therapeutic applicability of CYT-0851. Forward-looking statements include statements identified by words such as “could,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “continues,” “projects” and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding capital market conditions, our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a result, actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include: our limited operating history and that we have no products approved for commercial sale, which may make it difficult for you to evaluate our current business and predict our future success and viability; that we have incurred significant losses since inception and expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability; our need substantial additional funding; that we have never successfully completed any clinical trials, and we may be unable to do so for any drug candidates we develop; that our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate adequately the safety and efficacy of any of our drug candidates, which would delay or prevent further clinical development of those candidates, or prevent marketing approval from FDA or similar regulatory authorities; our intention to develop CYT-0851, and potentially future drug candidates, for use in combination with other therapies, which exposes us to additional risks; if we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize companion diagnostic tests for our drug candidates, or experience significant delays in doing so, we may not realize the full commercial potential of our drug candidates; synthetic lethality represents an emerging class of precision medicine targets, and negative perceptions of the efficacy, safety or tolerability of this class of targets, including any that we develop, could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business, advance our drug candidates or obtain regulatory approvals; if we are unable to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property or obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology and products or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors or other third parties could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our technology and products may be impaired, the continuing outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States and other countries may adversely affect our business and the market price of our common stock; and other factors set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in Cyteir’s final prospectus dated June 17, 2021 related to our initial public offering, which is available on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will be made available by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other filings that we make from time to time with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement made in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any such statement or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law.
For further information, please reference the company’s reports and documents filed with the SEC. You may get these documents by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
