Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Appoints Dr. Jan Skvarka to its Board of Directors
NEW YORK and SAN DIEGO, Sept. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zentalis™ Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing clinically differentiated small molecule therapeutics targeting fundamental biological pathways of cancers, today announced the appointment of Jan Skvarka, PhD, MBA to its Board of Directors. Dr. Skvarka is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive bringing over three decades of extensive operational, strategic and financial expertise to Zentalis.
“We are excited to welcome Jan, an experienced life sciences leader, to our Board of Directors,” said Dr. Kimberly Blackwell, Chief Executive Officer of Zentalis. “As a two-time Chief Executive Officer of clinical-stage companies, Jan has an extremely impressive track record of generating highly promising data, resetting and executing clinical priorities, and cultivating relationships with key industry players. Jan’s deep experience will be invaluable as we advance the development of our potentially best-in-class lead candidates and drive value for all of our stakeholders.”
Dr. Skvarka currently serves as the Executive Chairman of GentiBio, Inc. and DEM BioPharma, Inc. Previously, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Trillium Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded, clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, where he led a highly successful, 360-degree business transformation that produced a leading CD47 drug candidate, propelling Trillium from a $16 million market capitalization to a $2.3 billion acquisition by Pfizer Inc. in two years. Before Trillium, Dr. Skvarka served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Tal Medical, a private clinical-stage neuromodulation company, where he developed and executed the company’s strategy, built an accomplished leadership team, and oversaw its clinical development program. He also held roles of increasing responsibility at Bain & Company, most recently as a Partner, and was a leading member of Bain Healthcare Practice, with a focus on life sciences. Dr. Skvarka received a BS in business administration and a PhD in economics from the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“I am thrilled to be joining Zentalis’ passionate team at this pivotal time in the Company’s trajectory,” said Dr. Skvarka. “Zentalis has built a strong scientific foundation, and I believe its lead oncology candidates, ZN-c3 and ZN-d5, have broad therapeutic and commercial potential. I look forward to working with the leadership team as they execute on the Company’s corporate and clinical strategic objectives to bring differentiated and transformational oncology therapies to patients.”
About Zentalis Pharmaceuticals
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics targeting fundamental biological pathways of cancers. The Company is developing a broad pipeline of potentially best-in-class oncology candidates, all internally discovered, which include ZN-c3, a Wee1 inhibitor for advanced solid tumors, ZN-d5, a BCL-2 inhibitor for hematologic malignancies and related disorders and a heterobifunctional degrader of BCL-xL for solid and hematological malignancies. The Company has licensed ZN-c3, ZN-d5 and ZN-c5 to its joint venture, Zentera Therapeutics, Ltd., to develop and commercialize these candidates in China. Zentalis has operations in both New York and San Diego.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding advancing the clinical development of our product candidates; the potential impact of our Board member additions on our business, operations and financial results; the potential of our product candidates; and executing on strategic objectives. The terms “advance,” “believe,” “look forward,” “objectives,” “plan,” “potential,” “will” and similar references are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and predict our future success and viability; we have and expect to continue to incur significant losses; our need for additional funding, which may not be available; our substantial dependence on the success of our lead product candidates; the outcome of preclinical testing and early trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials; failure to identify additional product candidates and develop or commercialize marketable products; potential unforeseen events during clinical trials could cause delays or other adverse consequences; risks relating to the regulatory approval process or ongoing regulatory obligations; failure to obtain U.S. or international marketing approval; our product candidates may cause serious adverse side effects; inability to maintain our collaborations, or the failure of these collaborations; our reliance on third parties; effects of significant competition; the possibility of system failures or security breaches; risks relating to intellectual property; our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel, and risks relating to management transitions; significant costs as a result of operating as a public company; the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted and may continue to adversely impact our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials; and the other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our most recently filed periodic report on Form 10-K or 10-Q and subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and our other filings with the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
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Investor Contact:
Alexandra Roy
Solebury Strategic Communications
Media Contact:
Julia Deutsch
Solebury Strategic Communications
