ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GlycoMimetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLYC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing glycobiology-based therapies for cancers and inflammatory diseases, today announced that Edwin Rock, M.D., Ph.D. has joined the executive leadership team as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Rock brings nearly two decades of biopharmaceutical clinical development experience, most recently serving as CMO for Partner Therapeutics, a privately-held commercial stage biotech based in Massachusetts.
“We are thrilled to have Ed join the GlycoMimetics team. His proven biopharmaceutical leadership in the development and commercialization of novel hematologic therapies will be a significant asset as we prepare for the readout of uproleselan’s pivotal Phase 3 data in relapsed/refractory AML,” said Harout Semerjian, Chief Executive Officer. “With this hire we continue to build a world-class leadership team dedicated to delivering our transformation from a research company to a commercially focused organization that improves outcomes for patients.”
As CMO at Partner Therapeutics, Dr. Rock led clinical development and regulatory functions for sargramostim, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved therapy used in multiple therapeutic settings, including for patients with hematologic malignancies such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Prior to this role, as Vice President of Clinical Research at Macrogenics, Dr. Rock was clinical project leader for the first cycle approval of a successful biologics license application of margetuximab, an immune-optimized anti-HER2 antibody. He previously served in clinical development leadership roles at Astex Pharmaceuticals, Otsuka, and GSK leading clinical trial programs for drug candidates across hematology and oncology.
Dr. Rock also brings experience in the regulatory and financial fields. Early in his career, he was a Medical Officer in oncology drug review at the U.S. FDA, as well as Vice President at Leerink Swann and Company, where he performed buyside analysis of the biotechnology sector.
Dr. Rock holds a B.A. in Biology and Economics from Swarthmore College, as well as Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology and M.D. degrees from the Stanford University School of Medicine. He completed medical residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, a medical oncology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, and a postdoctoral fellowship in vaccine engineering at Stanford.
About Uproleselan
Discovered and developed by GlycoMimetics, uproleselan is an investigational, first-in-class, targeted inhibitor of E-selectin. Uproleselan (yoo’ pro le’sel an), currently in a comprehensive Phase 3 development program in AML, has received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. FDA and from the Chinese National Medical Products Administration for the treatment of adult AML patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Uproleselan is designed to block E-selectin (an adhesion molecule on cells in the bone marrow) from binding with blood cancer cells as a targeted approach to disrupting well-established mechanisms of leukemic cell resistance within the bone marrow microenvironment.
About GlycoMimetics, Inc.
GlycoMimetics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing glycobiology-based therapies for cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and for inflammatory diseases with high unmet need. The company’s science is based on an understanding of the role that carbohydrates play on the surface of every living cell and applying its specialized chemistry platform to discover small molecule drugs, known as glycomimetics, which alter these carbohydrate-mediated pathways in a variety of disease states, including signaling in cancer and inflammation. As a leader in this space, GlycoMimetics is leveraging this unique targeted approach to advance its pipeline of wholly owned drug candidates, with the goal of developing transformative therapies for serious diseases. GlycoMimetics is in Rockville, MD in the BioHealth Capital Region. Learn more at www.glycomimetics.com.
