RAPT Therapeutics Appoints Rodney Young as Chief Financial Officer

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RAPT Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: RAPT), a clinical-stage immunology-based biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing oral small molecule therapies for patients with significant unmet needs in oncology and inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Rodney Young as chief financial officer effective December 2, 2019.

“As a newly public company, we are thrilled to welcome Rodney to RAPT,” said Brian Wong, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of RAPT Therapeutics. “He is a seasoned executive who brings broad strategic, operational and financial expertise to help biotech companies grow successfully. Rodney will lead our finance and administrative functions and work closely with the executive team to guide the company’s development across all operational areas.”

Mr. Young brings more than 30 years of executive management and corporate finance experience. Most recently, he served as chief financial officer of Cellerant Therapeutics, Inc., a private clinical-stage company developing cell and antibody-based immunotherapies for blood cancers and related disorders, where he was responsible for accounting and financial management, and played a key role in determining corporate strategy. Previously, he served as chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration of StemCells, Inc., a public biotechnology company developing stem cell therapeutics for central nervous system disorders, where he was responsible for raising over $200 million in financing. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and SG Cowen, leading financing and merger and acquisition transactions focused in the healthcare, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors. Mr. Young received his MBA and BA from the University of Chicago.

“RAPT has a compelling drug discovery platform that has generated promising therapeutic drug candidates,” said Mr. Young. “With an experienced team and thoughtful clinical development plans, RAPT expects to have data from two compounds reading out in 2020. I’m thrilled to join the company at this important time.”

About RAPT Therapeutics, Inc.

RAPT Therapeutics (formerly FLX Bio) is a clinical stage immunology-based biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing oral small molecule therapies for patients with significant unmet needs in oncology and inflammatory diseases. Utilizing its proprietary discovery and development engine, the company is developing highly selective small molecules designed to modulate the critical immune responses underlying these diseases. In its first four years since inception, RAPT has discovered and advanced two unique drug candidates, each targeting C-C motif chemokine receptor 4. The company’s lead oncology drug candidate, FLX475, reached the clinic in just two and a half years and RPT193, its lead inflammation drug candidate, is also in the clinic. The company is also pursuing a range of targets, including general control nonderepressible 2 and hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1, that are in the discovery stage of development.

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