Aprea Therapeutics Appoints Gabriela Gruia, M.D. to Board of Directors

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., May 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aprea Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: APRE) (“Aprea”, or the “Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel synthetic lethality-based cancer therapeutics targeting DNA damage response (DDR) pathways, today announced the appointment of Gabriela Gruia, M.D. to its Board of Directors, effective as of May 5, 2023. Dr. Gruia joins Aprea with over 25 years of clinical, regulatory and life science leadership experience.

“We are honored to welcome Dr. Gruia to the Aprea Board of Directors, where her deep experience and accomplishments in drug development and regulatory affairs will be of immense importance in advancing and expanding our pipeline of synthetic lethality inhibitors,” said Oren Gilad, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Aprea. “Dr. Gruia’s proven skills in executing successful drug development strategies will provide valuable support to our growing pipeline, as we look ahead to upcoming milestones, including continued advancement of our lead candidate, ATRN-119, currently in a Phase 1/2a monotherapy trial for the treatment of cancers with DDR mutations.”

Dr. Gruia currently serves as Principal at Gabriela Gruia Consulting, LLC, which she founded in January 2021. She also serves as an Independent Board Director at Tessa Therapeutics, TScan Therapeutics, and Molecular Templates. Prior to her time as a consultant, Dr. Gruia served as the Chief Development Officer at Ichnos Sciences Inc. where she led clinical development activities. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President and Head of Drug Regulatory Affairs for Novartis Oncology, where she led an oncology regulatory affairs organization which oversaw worldwide regulatory submissions and approvals of twelve molecular oncological entities, and over 100 sNDAs and MAAs. Previously, Dr. Gruia held leadership roles in research and development at Novartis, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Aventis and Rhone Poulenc. Dr. Gruia received her M.D. from Bucharest Medical School in Romania and a Masters in Breast Pathology and Mammography from Rene Huguenin/Curie Institute Cancer Center in Paris, France. She received her training in oncology and hematology from Rene Descartes University in Paris, France.

“I am thrilled to join Aprea at this pivotal moment in the company’s growth. I was impressed by Aprea’s approach to cancer therapy using synthetic lethality, and I look forward to applying my expertise in R&D and regulatory affairs to help grow this promising pipeline of synthetic lethality inhibitors, and poise the company for success with regulatory agencies,” said Dr. Gruia. “I share Aprea’s mission and commitment to addressing unmet medical needs for patients suffering from cancers.”

About Aprea Therapeutics, Inc.

Aprea Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, focused on developing and commercializing novel synthetic lethality-based cancer therapeutics targeting a critical pathway and some of the most central targets in DDR and cancer progression. The Company’s lead program is ATRN-119, a clinical-stage small molecule ATR inhibitor being developed for solid tumor indications. Our WEE1 inhibitor is being advanced to IND submission. For more information, please visit the company website at .

The Company may use, and intends to use, its investor relations website at as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

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Source: Aprea Therapeutics, Inc.

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