New general counsel for ORIC Pharmaceuticals

, , , , ,

ORIC Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held clinical-stage oncology company, appointed Christian V. Kuhlen, M.D., general counsel. Dr. Kuhlen is serving on the executive leadership team and leading ORIC’s legal, compliance, intellectual property and corporate governance functions.

“We are thrilled to continue attracting top talent to ORIC’s experienced leadership team, which has been significantly reshaped over the past 18 months,” says CEO Jacob Chacko, M.D. “With over 15 years of experience as counsel to leading biotechnology companies, Chris has demonstrated outstanding judgment and legal acumen. In his prior roles as general counsel of three public companies – including Synthorx Inc. and Ignyta Inc. – Chris helped steer them through critical strategic events like public financings, business development transactions, and mergers and acquisitions, making him an exceptional addition to our team.”

Management says Dr. Kuhlen has extensive depth and breadth of expertise as general counsel for biotechnology companies, where he has been responsible for legal, SEC, human resources, intellectual property and corporate governance functions. Most recently, Dr. Kuhlen served as general counsel and secretary for Synthorx, where he led the legal aspects of its initial public offering and advised on the company’s subsequent acquisition by Sanofi.

Prior to Synthorx, Dr. Kuhlen was general counsel at Ignyta, where he coordinated two public financings and advised on the company’s acquisition by Roche.

Before Ignyta, Dr. Kuhlen served as general counsel of Genoptix Inc., where he led the legal function from the company’s initial public offering to its successful acquisition by Novartis.
Prior to Genoptix, he was an attorney in private practice with Cooley LLP.

“I am delighted and honored to join ORIC at this pivotal time in the company’s history,” Dr. Kuhlen says. “I look forward to working again with Jacob and with ORIC’s talented and passionate team to advance its pipeline of novel therapies aimed at overcoming resistance in cancer.”

Dr. Kuhlen holds a B.S. in biochemistry and cell biology and a B.A. in economics from the University of California, San Diego, and a M.D. and J.D. from the University of Southern California.