X4 picks new chief scientific officer

X4 picks new chief scientific officer

X4 Pharmaceuticals Inc. has appointed Art Taveras, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Dr. Taveras is leading all research and non-clinical development functions supporting the company’s pipeline of investigational therapies. X4 is a leader in the discovery and development of novel therapies targeting diseases resulting from dysfunction of the CXCR4 pathway.

“We are very excited to welcome Dr. Taveras as our chief scientific officer,” says Paula Ragan, Ph.D., president and CEO. “He has a proven track record in small-molecule drug discovery and development and his significant expertise in chemokine-related chemistries will not only support our current clinical programs for our lead product candidate, mavorixafor, but also contribute to the enhancement of our pre-clinical pipeline of chemokine receptor CXCR4 antagonists for the treatment of a number of rare genetic diseases. Moreover, Dr. Taveras’ extensive scientific leadership experience will add great value as we continue to grow the company, broaden our pipeline and advance our ongoing clinical trials.”

Dr. Taveras joins X4 from CoMET Therapeutics, where he served as chief scientific officer. “I couldn’t be more pleased to join X4 at this exciting time for the company, as it continues to progress its global Phase III trial for WHIM syndrome and its two Phase Ib trials in Waldenström macroglobulinemia and severe congenital neutropenia, respectively,” he says. “I look forward to leveraging my expertise and experience in the discovery and development of small molecules, and management of R&D teams globally, to further advance X4’s mission to develop therapeutics that can change the lives of patients with rare genetic diseases.”

Dr. Taveras brings more than 30 years of experience leading small-molecule research and development programs focused on the treatment of cancer, dysregulated immune disorders, neurodegeneration, and metabolic diseases. Company executives say his research and leadership have led to the development of multiple clinical candidates and dozens of clinical trials. 

Previous to CoMET, he was the founder and chief scientific officer at Transform Therapeutics, and served as president and chief scientific officer at ShangPharma ChemPartner. Prior to that, Dr. Taveras was VP of small-molecule drug discovery and CMC development at Biogen Idec, and Alantos Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Amgen in 2007. He began his career with Schering-Plough Corp. and held multiple roles of increasing responsibility in the oncology and immunology drug discovery and research sector over a 14-year period including leading the discovery of Navarixin, a CXCR2 antagonist currently in clinical trials in combination with pembrolizumab for the treatment of cancer. He holds 130 issued patents and patent applications and has authored more than 90 scientific publications. Dr. Taveras received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.