NEW HAVEN, Conn., June 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cybrexa Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology biotechnology company developing a novel class of tumor-targeting peptide drug conjugate (PDC) therapeutics, today announced that John Maraganore, Ph.D., has joined as a Strategic Advisor to the Company’s Executive Leadership Team. In this role, Dr. Maraganore will provide strategic guidance and leverage his extensive experience in the biotech industry to support the advancement of our alphalex technology platform, including progressing our lead candidate, a first-in-class peptide drug conjugate, CBX-12, (alphalex – exatecan) into Phase 2 ovarian cancer clinical trials, in the coming months.
“This strategic appointment underscores our unwavering dedication to growth and innovation, and we are thrilled to have John join us at such an exciting time,” said Per Hellsund, President and CEO, Cybrexa. “As we prepare for our next important milestones, we are confident John’s insights and deep industry experience will propel the Company and the alphalex technology platform forward.”
“Cybrexa’s innovative approach, leveraging pH in the tumor microenvironment to selectively kill cancer tissue while sparing healthy tissue, has the capability to revolutionize cancer treatment,” said Dr. John Maraganore. “The alphalex platform’s unique attributes, combined with the Company’s commitment to developing novel treatment options for patients, align perfectly with my own dedication to advance groundbreaking therapies for patients. I am particularly encouraged to see the recent efficacy and safety data from CBX-12’s Phase 1 trial, which showed activity in six different tumor types. I am excited to be part of this potentially transformative journey.”
Dr. Maraganore served as the founding CEO and a Director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2021, where he spearheaded the company’s growth from early-stage RNA interference (RNAi) research to the global approval and commercialization of their first four RNAi therapeutics. Under his leadership, the Company’s market capitalization value reached $25 billion, and he forged more than 20 major strategic pharmaceutical alliances. Before Alnylam, he was at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he oversaw the Company’s product franchises in oncology, cardiovascular, inflammatory and metabolic diseases, in addition to holding leadership roles in M&A, strategy, and biotherapeutics. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago. Currently, he is a Venture Partner at ARCH Venture Partners, a Venture Advisor at Atlas Ventures, and a Senior Advisor for Blackstone Life Science. Beyond his venture capital roles, Dr. Maraganore serves on the boards of several privately held and public companies, as well as foundations.
About CBX-12
CBX-12 is a clinical-stage, first-in-class peptide drug conjugate (PDC) that utilizes Cybrexa’s proprietary alphalex™ technology to enhance delivery of exatecan to tumor cells and is composed of a pH-Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP®), a linker and exatecan. CBX-12 is designed to increase the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of topoisomerase I inhibition by delivering exatecan, a highly potent, second-generation topoisomerase I inhibitor, directly to the tumor cells. As an antigen-independent therapy, CBX-12 may have broad utility in patients who are not eligible for antigen-targeted therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and has potential for use in combination regimens with other anti-cancer agents and immunotherapies. Data from the ongoing Phase 1 trial of CBX-12 in patients with metastatic solid tumors demonstrated preliminary anti-tumor activity in a heavily pretreated patient population with a favorable safety profile.
About the alphalex™ Technology Platform
The Cybrexa alphalex™ technology is a novel antigen-independent, peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) platform that enables targeted delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments and aims to revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. The platform consists of a pH-Low Insertion Peptides (pHLIPs®) peptide, linker, and small molecule anti-cancer agent. pHLIP peptides are a family of pH-Low Insertion Peptides that target acidic cell surfaces. pHLIP was developed at Yale University and the University of Rhode Island, and is exclusively licensed to pHLIP, Inc., and Cybrexa is a sublicensee of pHLIP, Inc. To date the alphalex platform has generated three programs at Cybrexa; CBX-12, CBX-13 and CBX-15.
About Cybrexa
Cybrexa is a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering novel antigen-independent tumor-targeting peptide drug conjugate (PDC) therapeutics. The company is led by a dynamic team of highly successful life science entrepreneurs and veteran drug development scientists. It is on a mission to create therapeutics that revolutionize the standard of care in oncology. Cybrexa’s robust pipeline aims to combat breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer and a range of other tumors. Its assets are built on Cybrexa’s alphalex™ technology platform, which enables intracellular delivery of highly potent anticancer treatments. Cybrexa is based in New Haven, Conn. and was founded in 2017. For more information about Cybrexa, please visit www.cybrexa.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
