Boston, MA & Hamilton, ON – March 23, 2020 – Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing next-generation radiopharmaceuticals as precision medicines to treat a broad range of cancers, today announced the appointment of James J. O’Leary, M.D., as chief medical officer (CMO).
“With his extensive experience and skills as a medical oncologist and drug developer in the precision oncology space, Jim will make an immediate contribution to Fusion’s clinical strategy and lead the growth of our clinical team and programs,” said John Valliant, chief executive officer. “Fusion is building a diverse pipeline of innovative radiopharmaceutical cancer therapy candidatesthrough our platform technology, and Jim’s ability to evaluate assets and tailor clinical studies will be invaluable as we execute our corporate plan. In addition, his background as a medical oncologist provides him with valuable insights and a focus on advancing innovative cancer therapies for patients.”
Dr. O’Leary brings to Fusion more than 20 years of oncology industry experience including roles within biotechnology companies such as ImmunoGen, Idera Pharmaceuticals, Array Biopharma, and Deciphera, and pharmaceutical companies including Takeda, Bayer and Pfizer. During his time at Takeda, Dr. O’Leary was a global project team leader for a late stage asset directing global strategy and regulatory approvals. At ImmunoGen, he was the CMO and was responsible for guiding the strategic direction and execution of all clinical programs, including antibody-drug conjugates. Prior to joining the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. O’Leary was a medical reviewer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Before that, he was a practicing oncologist in New York. Dr. O’Leary obtained his doctor of medicine degree from the State University of New York, Health Science Center at Brooklyn and completed a fellowship in oncology/hematology at New York University Medical Center.
“I was eager to join the Fusion team because I believe we have an exciting opportunity to leverage novel science supported by robust manufacturing and supply chain capabilities to usher in a new therapeutic approach delivering precision cancer therapies to patients,” said Dr. O’Leary. “Beginning with FPI-1434, which is currently in Phase 1 development, I look forward to growing and optimizing our clinical programs and guiding our short and long term development strategies.”
About Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted alpha therapeutics to treat cancer. Using its proprietary Fast-Clear™ Linker Technology platform, the company attaches alpha particle emitting isotopes to targeting molecules to create novel, next-generation radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer. In preclinical studies, the company has shown the ability to precisely target and effectively kill solid tumor cells while minimizing the impact to healthy tissue. Fusion’s lead program, FPI-1434, is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The company completed an oversubscribed $125M Series B financing that will be used to advance FPI-1434 and initiate preclinical and clinical development on multiple new product candidates.
To further leverage its proprietary platform, Fusion is actively evaluating opportunities to in-license targeting molecules and form strategic partnerships to expand its pipeline of cancer therapies. For more information, please visit www.fusionpharma.com or contact info@fusionpharma.com.
Contact:
Amanda Cray
Senior Director of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
617-420-5698
cray@fusionpharma.com
