NEW HAVEN, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Halda Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing a novel class of cancer therapies called RIPTAC therapeutics, today announced that it has appointed Christian Schade as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. Chris brings more than 20 years of public and private pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience, including building, financing and leading biotechnology companies through the clinical stages of pipeline development and formation of value-creating deals and transactions. Tim Shannon will continue in his current capacity as Halda’s Chairman of the Board of Directors.
“We are excited to welcome Chris to the role of Halda’s CEO and member of the Board. His strong track record building and leading biotech companies is ideally suited to Halda’s next stage of evolution to a clinical-stage cancer company,” said Tim Shannon, Chair of Halda’s Board of Directors and General Partner of Canaan Partners. “With Chris’ outstanding leadership, Halda is well positioned to realize the full potential of the RIPTAC modality, as the company advances therapeutics into clinical trials for patients with prostate cancer and breast cancer, two of the most prevalent cancer types with significant unmet needs for patients.”
“I am delighted to join the talented team at Halda that has made impressive progress advancing the RIPTAC platform to bring new cancer-fighting approaches to clinical development,” said Mr. Schade. “This is a time of strong momentum for the company, particularly as the first RIPTAC therapeutic is on track to begin clinical trials in the first half of 2025. There are many exciting prospects ahead to expand Halda’s pipeline and explore business opportunities, as we leverage the RIPTAC platform to develop targeted oral cancer therapies to improve outcomes for cancer patients.”
Most recently, Chris was a Growth Partner at Flagship Pioneering since January 2023 where he worked with leaders at Flagship-founded biotech companies on organizational development, long-term strategy, financing, and business development. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer and Board member of Aprea Therapeutics (Nasdaq: APRE) from 2016 to 2022, including as Chairman from 2020 to 2023. He led Aprea in developing its pipeline of anti-cancer therapies through the company’s IPO in 2019. Chris has also served in executive leadership positions at other biotech companies with emerging clinical candidates including: Chief Executive Officer of Novira, a privately held antiviral drug discovery company until it was acquired by Johnson & Johnson; Chief Financial Officer of Omthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed specialty pharmaceuticals company focused on new therapies for dyslipidemia until it was acquired by AstraZeneca Plc; and, Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Medarex, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on antibody-based therapeutic products for oncology, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases until it was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Earlier in his career, Chris was Managing Director at Merrill Lynch in London and for nearly 20 years held various corporate finance and capital markets positions in New York and London for both Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Chase.
Currently, Chris serves on the boards of several biotechnology companies, including as Board Chair for Omega Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OMGA), Director at Valo Health, and Director at Integra LifeSciences (Nasdaq: IART) where he chairs the Audit and Finance Committees. He received an A.B. degree from Princeton University and received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
About Halda Therapeutics
Halda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company, founded by Professor Craig Crews from Yale University, that has developed a proprietary RIPTAC™ (Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimeras) modality that works by a novel “hold and kill” mechanism for the precision treatment of cancer. The novel mechanism of action of RIPTAC therapeutics is uniquely designed to address cancer’s ability to evolve bypass mechanisms of resistance, a common limitation of today’s precision oncology medicines. Our lead RIPTAC programs are in development for major solid tumor types, prostate cancer and breast cancer, with additional RIPTAC therapeutic programs in our pipeline to treat unmet medical needs in cancer. The company will initiate its Phase 1 trial in metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in 2025. Halda is led by a leadership team with deep expertise in bifunctional drug discovery, platform innovation and clinical development, and is located in New Haven, CT. For more information, please visit www.haldatx.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
