ZYME News & Events

Zymeworks announced the full-time appointments of Adam Schayowitz and Scott Platshon as of April 9, from their previously interim roles. Schayowitz has been appointed as EVP and Head of Research & Development. Platshon will serve as EVP and Chief Business Officer and continue to lead Zymeworks' asset aggregation strategy while managing expected future cash flows from Ziihera and other licensed healthcare assets, including pasritamig, which is being advanced into Phase 3 registration studies by Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. Schayowitz and Platshon both join the executive leadership team from EcoR1 Capital, a shareholder in Zymeworks.

Leerink analyst Andrew Berens notes Gilead (GILD) announced plans to acquire Tubulis for $3.15B in cash plus up to $1.85B in contingent milestone payments for a total potential acquisition value of $5B. This acquisition serves as further validation of the antibody-drug conjugate space and should be a tailwind for other ADC platform companies including Sutro Biopharma (STRO), as well as Immunome (IMNM) and Zymeworks (ZYME) in the firm's coverage, Leerink says. This deal underscores the strategic value of an ADC discovery platform anchored to a lead asset to large pharma. However, while there are a number of similarities between Tubulis' platform and portfolio and that of Sutro, it is possible the acquisition price may have been supported by potential expansion of the Tubulis chemistry and technology beyond oncology and into inflammation and virology. Leerink believes Sutro represents a similar set-up, although earlier in clinical development and technological validation.

Zymeworks (ZYME) announced the appointment of Kristin Stafford as CFO, effective April 1. Stafford recently served as Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer for Royalty Pharma plc, since December 2018. Prior to this position, she served as Vice President, Finance of Royalty Pharma and CFO of BioPharma Credit,an affiliate of Royal Pharma, from 2016 to 2018. Previously, Stafford was a director at Ernst & Young Capital Markets in London, specializing in U.S. transactions involving European life sciences companies. She also previously managed the external SEC reporting for iHeartMedia and was an auditor at Deloitte. Stafford is currently a Board Member at Novocure (NVCR). She is a CPA and holds a B.Sc. degree in business administration from Sonoma State University.

Zymeworks announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation to ZW191, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting folate receptor-alpha, for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.