HOUSTON, Nov. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/Korea IT Times -- ImmunoMet Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company focused on utilizing cellular metabolism to develop novel anti-tumor and immuno-oncology therapies, today announced the appointment of Benjamin R. Cowen, PhD, MBA, as Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2017. Dr. Cowen previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer. Sung-Wuk Kim, DDS, Founder and outgoing CEO, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Sung-Wuk Kim said, "I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ben Cowen in his new role as our CEO at this important time for ImmunoMet. The company has made significant progress under Ben's leadership, including the recent initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study for our lead drug candidate, IM156, an OXPHOS inhibitor, designed to treat drug resistant cancers. We are confident that Ben brings the skills, experience and dedication that will be valuable for our continued progress and success."
"I am honored and delighted to lead ImmunoMet during its next phase of growth, and I will continue to work closely with Sung-Wuk Kim, our Board of Directors and our Scientific Advisory Board. I am very enthusiastic about the company's potential to bring treatments that can truly make a difference in patients with difficult-to-treat, life-threatening cancers," said Benjamin R. Cowen.
Dr. Cowen has 20 years' experience working with private, early-stage biotechnology companies and public companies, including Shire and Merck, where he held various senior management positions and received recognition for leading high-performance teams and successfully completing key business development transactions. Prior to joining ImmunoMet, Dr. Cowen served as VP of Corporate Development at Milestone Pharmaceuticals, where he played a key role in a Series B financing and was responsible for business development and commercial activities. Dr. Cowen also serves on Atrin Pharmaceuticals' Board of Directors since its inception in 2012. Dr. Cowen received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, his BA at Brandeis University and was an NIH Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ImmunoMet as COO on November 1, 2016.
About the company's lead product, IM156
IM156 is an orally administered small molecule from the biguanide class, and it is a potent oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) inhibitor. IM156 is particularly promising in that it has the potential to treat not only drug resistant cancers, but also cancers with molecular signatures of sensitivity to OXPHOS inhibition. Resistant tumor cells are very sensitive to OXPHOS inhibition due to transformation to mitochondrial OXPHOS from glycolysis. IM156 has shown strong in-vitro and in-vivo efficacy in certain cancers, including glioblastoma (GBM), gastric, and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The company initiated its Phase 1 clinical study for IM156 in September 2017.
About ImmunoMet Therapeutics
ImmunoMet Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company, is dedicated to developing innovative oncology products to improve the quality of life and make a meaningful difference in the lives of cancer patients. The company, a spinoff of HanAll, a Korean biopharma company, was founded in 2015 and is headquartered at JLABS in Houston. In addition to its lead program, IM156, ImmunoMet has an immuno-oncology program, IM188, in late stage lead optimization targeting immune suppressor cells to enhance the response of current immunotherapies. For more information about the company, please visit www.immunomet.com.
Contact
Joseph T. Schepers, joeschepers@immunomet.com
