eFFECTOR Therapeutics Appoints Mayank Gandhi, M.D., as Chief Business Officer

SAN DIEGO and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EFTR), a leader in the development of selective translation regulator inhibitors (“STRIs”) for the treatment of cancer, today announced it has appointed Mayank J. Gandhi, M.D., as chief business officer. Dr. Gandhi will lead eFFECTOR’s corporate growth strategy, business development and partnership opportunities.

“Mayank is an accomplished leader with extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry including corporate development, partnering, product development and commercialization,” said Steve Worland, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of eFFECTOR. “Mayank will be instrumental in maximizing the value of tomivosertib and zotatifin as both compounds advance in clinical development. We are delighted to welcome him to our team.”

Dr. Gandhi has over 15 years of biopharmaceutical industry and capital markets experience, most recently serving as the vice president of corporate development & strategy of Jiya Acquisition Group, a VC-backed biotech special purpose acquisition company, where he helped raise over $100 million for its IPO listing in November of 2020. Prior to joining Jiya, he served as a business development director for Genentech, where he was responsible for identifying, negotiating and closing deal structures across therapeutic modalities and platform technologies. Prior to that, he held different roles across commercial operations and medical affairs at Genentech and was part of a team that successfully launched Tecentriq in bladder and lung cancer. Earlier in his career, he was an equity research analyst covering biopharma and medical technology companies at Citigroup, Cowen and Avet Capital. Dr. Gandhi received his medical degree from the University of Mumbai, and his M.B.A. with a concentration in healthcare management and finance from Case Western Reserve University.

“This is an exciting time for eFFECTOR as both tomivosertib and zotatifin have shown promising clinical data and have strong potential in multiple oncology indications,” said Dr. Gandhi. “I am proud to join a team that has pioneered a new class of cancer therapeutics that may significantly improve outcomes for cancer patients.”

About eFFECTOR Therapeutics

eFFECTOR is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of a new class of oncology drugs referred to as STRIs. eFFECTOR’s STRI product candidates target the eIF4F complex and its activating kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase interacting kinase (MNK). The eIF4F complex is a central node where two of the most frequently mutated signaling pathways in cancer, the PI3K-AKT and RAS-MEK pathways, converge to activate the translation of select mRNA into proteins that are frequent culprits in key disease-driving processes. Each of eFFECTOR’s product candidates is designed to act on a single protein that drives the expression of a network of functionally related proteins, including oncoproteins and immunosuppressive proteins in T cells, that together control tumor growth, survival and immune evasion. eFFECTOR’s lead product candidate, tomivosertib, is a MNK inhibitor currently being evaluated in KICKSTART, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b trial of tomivosertib in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Zotatifin, eFFECTOR’s inhibitor of eIF4A, is currently being evaluated in Phase 2a expansion cohorts in certain biomarker-positive solid tumors, including ER+ breast cancer and KRAS-mutant NSCLC. eFFECTOR has a global collaboration with Pfizer to develop inhibitors of a third target, eIF4E. In addition to the company’s oncology focus, zotatifin is being evaluated as a potential host-directed anti-viral therapy in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, under a $5 million cooperative agreement sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Forward-Looking Statements

eFFECTOR cautions you that statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the future clinical development of our product candidates; the potential therapeutic benefits of our product candidates; and the potential to maximize value of our product candidates. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including, without limitation: potential delays in the commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials; additional disruptions to our operations from the COVID-19 pandemic, including clinical trial and manufacturing delays; our dependence on third parties in connection with product manufacturing, research and preclinical and clinical testing; the results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results; the success of our clinical trials and preclinical studies for our product candidates is uncertain; we may use our capital resources sooner than expected and they may be insufficient to allow clinical trial readouts; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate efficacy of our product candidates that may limit their development, regulatory approval and/or commercialization, or may result in recalls or product liability claims; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates; and other risks described in our prior filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

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Editors’ note: head shot available upon request