New CEO for Convergent
New CEO for Convergent
Convergent Therapeutics, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing next generation radiopharmaceutical therapies for prostate and other cancers, has picked Philip Kantoff, M.D., as CEO. Dr. Kantoff is a world-renowned medical oncologist, former chairman of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and co-founder of Convergent.
Convergent has exclusive rights to a next-generation radiopharmaceutical therapy for prostate cancer developed by Dr. Neil H. Bander, the Bernard & Josephine Chaus Professor of Urologic Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine, and licensed from Cornell University. The cornerstone of Convergent’s radionuclide therapy (RNT) is based on the premise that the simultaneous co-targeting of surface molecules with both antibodies and small molecule ligands carrying payloads, including alpha and beta radioisotopes, will synergistically eradicate cancer cells in patients with advanced cancers.
“Phil’s appointment as CEO marks a seminal moment for Convergent,” Dr. Bander says. “Assuming this role validates his strong belief in the potential of Convergent Therapeutics and its development of new radiopharmaceutical therapies. Throughout Phil’s career, he has been instrumental in advancing research programs which have led to biologic insights, new treatment strategies and produced multiple cancer-related treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. To have a leader of his caliber at the helm of Convergent’s management team is a real coup and will prove invaluable as the company advances its treatment strategy and lead asset, CONV 01-α, as a potentially ground-breaking treatment for prostate cancer.”
“My decision to lead Convergent was driven by the opportunity to accelerate the development of precision radiopharmaceuticals, including CONV 01-α, with the goal of producing highly transformative treatments for patients with prostate and other cancers,” Dr. Kantoff says. “Dr. Bander has pioneered the clinical validation of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and PSMA-targeted therapeutics (radionuclides and antibody drug conjugates) and the revolutionary approach he has developed has the power to translate into meaningful clinical benefits for thousands of patients. The preclinical and clinical data using antibodies and small molecule ligands with various payloads are compelling, and I look forward to working closely with Convergent’s team and Dr. Bander to leverage his discoveries as we progress our clinical pipeline.”
Prior to joining Convergent, Dr. Kantoff spent six years as chairman of the Department of Medicine at MSK, where he oversaw a department of more than 450 physicians and physician-scientists, caring for cancer patients and developing improved testing and cancer therapies. Previously, Dr. Kantoff was the Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Chair at Harvard Medical School running the Solid Tumor Oncology Division, and he served as director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In those positions, Dr. Kantoff oversaw robust programs of clinical care and research as well as laboratory research. His lab focused on the genetics and genetic epidemiology of prostate cancer, mechanisms of resistance to therapies, and the role of noncoding RNAs in prostate cancer as well as the discovery of biomarkers that may be useful prognostic tools and/or therapeutic targets. During this time, he served as a clinical researcher and principal investigator in significant trials devoted to the development of new therapeutic targets for men with advanced prostate cancer and, throughout his tenure at Dana-Farber, Dr. Kantoff helped to set broad clinical research priorities.
