Phoenix Molecular Designs Appoints V.K. Gadi, M.D., Ph.D. and Naoto Tada Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.P. to its Advisory Board

Jul. 29
2021

SAN DIEGO, California - VANCOUVER, British Columbia - July 29, 2021, Phoenix Molecular Designs (PhoenixMD), a clinical-stage therapeutics company dedicated to developing precise cancer therapeutics focusing on first-in-class RSK kinase inhibitors, announced the appointment of V.K. Gadi, M.D., Ph.D. and Naoto Tada Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.P. to its advisory board.

"We are excited to welcome breast cancer industry leaders, Dr. Gadi and Dr. Ueno, to our growing advisory board," said Dr. Sandra E. Dunn, CEO and Founder of Phoenix Molecular Designs. "I am impressed with their approach to precision medicine and providing expert care to patients. Together, they bring over 50 years of critical discoveries in breast cancer biology, immunology and diagnostics that will support Phoenix Molecular Designs in the development of our lead asset being studied in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)."

"This is a pivotal time to join Phoenix Molecular Designs as they fine-tune their approach to cultivate therapeutics for the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer, TNBC," said Dr. Gadi. "I am confident that in our work together, we will make great strides in developing a therapeutic that will help thousands."

PhoenixMD continues to pursue its advanced pipeline of precision oncology medicines ensuring that patient care is first and foremost in every decision.

About Dr. Gadi

Dr. Gadi is a Medical Advisor and Co-Founder of SEngine Precision Medicine. He is a Director of Medical Oncology and Associate Director of Translational Medicine at the University of Illinois Cancer Center at Chicago. Before joining U.I.C., Dr. Gadi was an Associate Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Clinical Research and Public Health Sciences Divisions and an Associate Professor at the University of Washington, Division of Oncology. Dr. Gadi is a board-certified medical oncologist with a specialty in breast cancer.

He has 30 years of experience in cancer research and expertise in clinical care, clinical oncology, and translational breast cancer research. His research interests include breast and hematologic malignancies, immunogenetics and immunotherapy for solid tumors, and the development of cell-based therapies for cancer. He is a pioneer in the use of patient-derived organoids for both drug target discovery and functional drug screening for patient care.

Dr. Gadi received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Washington and his oncology fellowship at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Gadi also holds a B.Sc. in Biology/Biological Sciences from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

About Dr. Ueno

Dr. Ueno is a tenured Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is the Executive Director of the Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program and Clinic and Section Chief of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Department at the Department of Breast Medical Oncology. His research focuses on inflammatory breast cancer (IBC)/TNBC and the molecular mechanism of metastasis and cancer microenvironment in breast cancer. He is best known for his various preclinical development and biomarkers, which led to novel investigator-initiated clinical trials related to breast cancer.

The projects in his laboratory include elucidating the role and the underlying mechanism of several signalling pathways, including epidermal growth factor receptor, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF- beta), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and Axl receptor tyrosine kinase, in promoting the progression of TNBC and IBC.

He received his M.D. from Wakayama Medical College in Wakayama, Japan and received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Science at the University of Texas. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and accomplished a medical oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Ueno received the Nylene Eckles Distinguished Professorship of Breast Cancer Research in 2012, the University of Texas System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award for his mentoring contributions in 2014 and the MD Anderson Distinguished Clinical Faculty Mentor Award in 2019.

Dr. Ueno receives compensation as a member of PhoenixMD’s advisory board, and this financial relationship has been disclosed to MD Anderson’s Conflict of Interest Committee in accordance with institutional policy.

 About Phoenix Molecular Designs
PhoenixMD is a privately-held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company designing precise cancer therapeutics and companion diagnostics by targeting kinases, a class of highly druggable enzymes to treat a wide range of oncology indications. PhoenixMD is focused on developing first-in-class inhibitors against RSK, an important drug target for cancer, heart disease, and inflammation. The company's leadership team boasts previous expertise in developing FDA-approved and marketed drugs in oncology. Due to PhoenixMD's emerging leadership in kinase inhibition, the company has entered into partnerships with multiple government and academic research institutions, including the National Cancer Institute, MD Anderson, Kyushu University (Japan), University of Tuebingen (Germany), as well as patient advocates, such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation in San Diego. PhoenixMD has clinical headquarters in San Diego, CA, and preclinical operations in Vancouver, BC. For more information, visit phoenixmd.ca