Two new board members have histories of building successful pharma companies.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 08, 2017 — Vault Pharma, an immunology-focused biotechnology company developing precision therapies for cancer and infectious diseases, named Michael J. Kamdar, Chief Executive Officer and Director at Molecular Assemblies Inc., and Todd N. Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Novum Pharma, to the company’s Board of Directors.
“Mike and Todd add depth, experience and leadership to an already distinguished group of leaders on the Vault Pharma Board of Directors,” said Mr. Oliver Foellmer, President & CEO at Vault Pharma. “With Mike and Todd, Vault Pharma is in a stronger position to transition into and be successful in the commercial stages of our product development.”
Vault Pharma is developing a unique therapeutics platform using the body’s own naturally occurring vault protein particles found abundantly in human cells to activate the immune system against cancer cells, bacteria and viruses. The vault particle was discovered by Vault Pharma Founder Dr. Leonard Rome, a Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
As CEO at Molecular Assemblies, Mr. Kamdar leads the company that is developing a proprietary enzymatic DNA synthesis technology designed to power the next generation of DNA-based products. Mr. Kamdar has accounted for deal transactions in excess of $1 billion and has raised more than $400 million from venture capital and public capital markets. Previously, Mr. Kamdar was President and Founder of VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, an immuno-oncology company focused on TLR8 agonists acquired by Celgene. Mr. Kamdar currently serves on the board of directors at Prime Genomics, Medipacs (Chairman) and Cellana.
Mr. Smith has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology leadership experience. He has a reputation for building companies and leading them to commercial success and business development excellence. Mr. Smith has led high-performing commercial teams at Bayer, Abbott, Horizon Pharma, Agouron Pharmaceuticals and Fenwal, Inc. Mr. Smith currently is CEO at Novum Pharma, a global specialty pharmaceuticals company focused on providing innovative therapeutic solutions and ensuring treatment access for patients.
Vault Pharma is expected to introduce its lead drug candidate, VPI-101, into Phase I clinical trials in 2017. A potential cancer immunotherapy treatment, VPI-101 has shown effectiveness in lung cancer, glioblastoma (brain tumors) and melanoma. VPI-101 successfully completed preclinical animal efficacy and active ingredient phase I safety trials.
