New chief scientific officer, executives for Viracta Therapeutics

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New chief scientific officer, executives for Viracta Therapeutics

Viracta Therapeutics Inc., a precision oncology company targeting virus-associated malignancies, has appointed Ayman El-Guindy, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. In addition, Viracta has added Patric Nelson, MBA, as senior VP, business development and corporate strategy and Biljana Nadjsombati, Pharm.D., as VP, pharmaceutical development.

“Ayman is one of the world’s leading experts on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated cancers and a tremendous addition to our management team,” says Ivor Royston, M.D., president and CEO. “Ayman’s appointment, along with the addition of Patric and Biljana, strengthens the team at an important time as we are poised to advance our clinical program into EBV-associated solid tumors and explore additional opportunities to expand our portfolio. Their diverse and complementary skill sets add valuable depth to our leadership team, and I look forward to their contributions.”

Dr. El-Guindy adds, “Viracta’s kick and kill approach targeting latent viral infections in cancer elegantly applies the concepts I’ve spent much of my career studying into clinical practice in an area of high unmet medical need. Our impressive clinical data has validated the approach, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join Viracta as chief scientific officer at this very exciting time. As Viracta’s NAVAL-1 pivotal trial and solid tumor program continue to progress, I look forward to advancing our pre-clinical efforts to evaluate and identify potential additional opportunities to apply Viracta’s approach and further expand our pipeline.”

Dr. El-Guindy has more than 23 years of experience studying the role of viruses in cancer and spent the last decade as a faculty member at Yale University School of Medicine, most recently as an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Infectious Disease, and the Department of Pathology. He received his Ph.D. and M.Ph. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University and his M.Sc. in biochemistry from Ain-Shams University (Egypt).

Nelson, joined Viracta from Esperion Therapeutics, where he served as VP, business development and alliance management. At Esperion, he led the company’s global business development strategy, closing over $2 billion in licensing transactions. Furthermore, he created Esperion’s alliance management function, where he led Esperion’s global partnerships with Daiichi Sankyo and Otsuka. Prior to his time at Esperion, he was a program therapeutic leader at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the clinical and lifecycle strategy for antisense oligonucleotide therapies. Additionally, he previously held management positions at Amgen, Amylin Pharmaceuticals (acquired by AstraZeneca), and Allergan (acquired by Abbvie). Nelson earned his MPH in public health from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and his MBA with distinction from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. 

Nadjsombati, is an experienced chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) and technical operations executive with more than 25 years of experience across the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Viracta, she served as VP, CMC, at Urovant Sciences Inc. Before joining Urovant, Nadjsombati held leadership roles within the R&D organization at Avanir Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical). Prior to her time at Avanir, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Ribapharm, and ICN Pharmaceuticals. She earned her Pharm.D. and completed additional postgraduate work in pharmaceutical technology at the University of Belgrade, School of Pharmacy in Serbia.