IDEAYA Biosciences Appoints Paul Stone, J.D., as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Head of Operations and Mark Lackner, Ph.D. as Vice President, Head of Biomarkers and Synthetic Lethal Biology
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jun. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc., an oncology-focused biotechnology company committed to the discovery of breakthrough synthetic lethality medicines and immuno-oncology therapies, announced today the appointment of Paul Stone, J.D., as senior vice president and general counsel, head of operations, and of Mark Lackner, Ph.D. as vice president and head of biomarkers and synthetic lethal biology.
"We are thrilled to welcome Paul and Mark to IDEAYA," said Yujiro S. Hata, chief executive officer of IDEAYA. "Through his experience at 5AM Ventures, Paul has been associated with IDEAYA since the founding of the company and we are fortunate to be able to continue to benefit from his extensive legal and operational experience. Mark is an exceptional cancer biologist with deep experience in biomarker discovery, clinical biomarker strategies and companion diagnostic development. His leadership in these areas will be critical as we look to advance multiple novel small molecules into the clinic in the next few years."
Paul brings more than 20 years of legal, financial, and management experience to IDEAYA. Paul was previously with 5AM Ventures for over nine years in various leadership capacities including as partner, general counsel, and chief operating officer. Prior to joining 5AM, Paul was senior vice president and general counsel at Ethos Pharmaceuticals, senior vice president, general counsel and chief patent counsel at Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen), which discovered Kiklin® (Astellas) and Veltassa® (Relypsa), and vice president, chief patent counsel at Symyx Technologies (IPO). He earlier practiced intellectual property law at Senniger Powers, representing pharmaceutical companies, ag-bio companies, and universities in chemical and biological sciences. Paul serves as a Board Director of Scientist.com and was a founding Board Director at Cidara Therapeutics, Homology Medicines, IDEAYA Biosciences and Metchnikoff Therapeutics as well as a Board Observer at RareCyte.
Paul earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, after which he served as a U.S. Naval Officer on USS NIMITZ. He received a J.D. from University of Wisconsin Law School.
Mark has nineteen years of experience in oncology drug development ranging from target identification through biomarker development in registrational clinical trials. Prior to joining IDEAYA, Mark worked at Genentech for 14 years in positions of increasing responsibility in the Oncology Biomarker Development group, most recently as a Director and Principal Scientist. Mark's group was responsible for predictive and pharmacodynamic strategies for candidate therapeutics spanning cancer signaling through immuno-oncology and for clinical biomarker strategies for over 20 development stage small molecule and antibody agents. His group developed clinical biomarker strategies for immune doublet combinations with the anti-PDL1 antibody Tecentriq®, as well as phase III companion diagnostic strategies for the AKT inhibitor ipatasertib and the MEK and BRAF inhibitors Cotellic® and Zelboraf®. Mark also provided strategic leadership for the overall breast cancer biomarker strategy within the broader Roche organization. Prior to joining Genentech, Mark worked at Exelixis from 1999 through 2004 in oncology target identification and validation, including the identification of synthetic lethal interactions with the tumor suppressor gene p53.
Mark received his Ph.D. from Stanford University for studies on genetic analysis of RAS/MAP kinase signaling. He completed postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley in the laboratory of Joshua Kaplan. He has authored over 55 peer reviewed scientific manuscripts in journals including Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Cell and Clinical Cancer Research.
About IDEAYA Biosciences
IDEAYA is an oncology-focused biotechnology company committed to the discovery of breakthrough synthetic lethality medicines for genetically defined patient populations and immuno-oncology therapies targeting immuno-metabolism and innate immunity. IDEAYA, headquartered in South San Francisco, California, has assembled leading scientists and advisors with extensive knowledge and expertise in cancer biology, immunology, and small molecule drug discovery. For more information, please visit www.ideayabio.com.
Investor and Media Contact:
IDEAYA Biosciences
Paul Stone
SVP and General Counsel, Head of Operations
(650) 513-0985
pstone@ideayabio.com
