Race Oncology Ltd has bolstered its clinical leadership team with the appointment of Dr Jose Iglesias as chief medical officer and Dr Simon Fisher as vice president of Clinical, as it accelerates development of its lead oncology candidate, RC220.
RC220 is a reformulated bisantrene therapy, developed to target solid tumours and acute myeloid leukaemia, with the aim of enhancing efficacy and reducing cardiotoxicity.
Commercial readiness
The appointments are part of Race Oncology’s transition towards later-stage clinical development and commercial readiness.
Dr Iglesias succeeds Dr Michelle Rashford, while Dr Fisher joins in a newly created leadership role.
Dr Iglesias brings more than 30 years of experience in oncology drug development and global clinical leadership.
His career spans prominent roles at Abraxis BioScience and Celgene, where he led the global clinical programs for Abraxane® (paclitaxel) across multiple cancer indications.
His broad industry expertise includes senior medical leadership roles at Amgen, Eli Lilly, Biothera, Apobiologix and Bionomics. Dr Iglesias will serve in a consulting capacity from Canada.
“I’m honoured to join Race Oncology at a critical juncture in the company's clinical development efforts,” Dr Jose Iglesias said.
“Race’s commitment to advancing innovative oncology therapies aligns closely with my commitment to improving outcomes for cancer patients.
“I look forward to contributing my experience in early-phase and translational oncology development to help accelerate the progression of RC220 and bring this novel therapy to patients."
Leader at major pharma companies
Joining as vice president of Clinical, Dr Fisher adds over 25 years of pharmaceutical and clinical affairs experience.
He has held leadership positions at major pharmaceutical firms including Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
His track record includes the successful development and launch of more than 25 medicines and medical devices, and he will lead RC220’s clinical strategy and external partnerships from Sydney.
Race CEO Daniel Tillett said both appointments were instrumental to the company's ambitions in oncology and thanked outgoing CMO Dr Michelle Rashford for her contributions.