Presage Biosciences Appoints Brad Margus to Board of Directors
Seattle – March 16, 2015 – Presage Biosciences, an oncology company pioneering a radical new drug development approach that incorporates human efficacy data much earlier in development and clinical trials, announced today the appointment of Brad Margus to its board of directors. Margus is an accomplished entrepreneur and executive who brings broad and deep experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, particularly in building companies with novel science and managing these companies to create significant value.
"We are pleased to welcome Brad to our Board of Directors at this important time in our growth," said Nathan Caffo, President of Presage. "His insight and expertise in the strategic, operational and management aspects of drug development and understanding of the challenges that face a growing biotechnology company will be a valuable asset, and we are fortunate to have him as part of the Presage leadership team."
Presage has developed CIVO™, a predictive in vivo assessment technology for drug development that enables the first side-by-side comparison of multiple drugs and combinations within a single living tumor while still in a patient's body, without exposing the patient to the toxicity of systemic dosing. Presage partners with oncology drug companies to guide decision-making with the resulting in vivo data and also is actively in-licensing promising compounds and using CIVO™ to develop a portfolio of proprietary oncology therapies.
"With CIVO™, Presage has the potential to change the way cancer drugs are selected, tested and targeted, creating innovative treatment options with higher probability of success," said Margus. "I look forward to working with this forward-thinking team and sharing my insights as the company continues to advance, both clinically and commercially, pursuing its goal of improving the rate of clinical success for cancer drugs from 10% to over 50% in the next decade."
An accomplished entrepreneur in the life sciences industry, Brad Margus has co-founded and led several life sciences companies, most recently founding Exigence Neurosciences, a new drug discovery company. Prior to Exigence, Margus started Genome Bridge, a non-profit subsidiary of the Broad Institute of Harvard and M.I.T., to build a computational platform for sharing genomic and clinical data. Previously, as co-founder and CEO of Envoy Therapeutics, Margus raised $8 million from investors, discovered new compounds for brain diseases, and sold the company to a global pharmaceutical company for $140 million. Earlier, he was co-founder and served as CEO of Perlegen Sciences, a leader in analyzing genetic variation. Concurrent with his business career, for the last 20 years, Margus has worked as founder and volunteer President of the A-T Children's Project, a non-profit that orchestrates research on a rare, brutal, genetic disease – ataxia telangiectasia or "A-T" – that two of his sons have. A-T causes neurodegeneration, cancer and immune system problems. Margus co-chairs the Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT) External Oversight Board at the National Institutes of Health. He also serves on the Steering Committee for the Global Alliance for Genomics & Health and on the Board of Global Genes.
About Presage Biosciences
Presage Biosciences is an oncology company pioneering the incorporation of human efficacy data much earlier in the drug development and clinical trial processes with its patented CIVO™ arrayed microinjection platform. The CIVO platform allows for simultaneous assessment of multiple drugs or drug combinations directly in a single solid tumor while still in a patient's body to assess efficacy, resistance and drug synergies in the tumor's native microenvironment. Presage partners with oncology-focused pharmaceutical companies through strategic alliances to provide in vivo data to validate novel targets, promote drug candidates to the right indications and discover effective drug combinations. Presage also is actively in-licensing cancer compounds and using CIVO™ to develop a portfolio of promising oncology therapies to advance to the clinic. Presage is privately held and based in Seattle. For more information, visit www.presagebio.com.