ARMO BioSciences Appoints Immuno-Oncology Industry Veteran Joseph Leveque, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ARMO BioSciences, Inc., a late-stage immuno-oncology company, today announced the appointment of Joseph Leveque, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer. An accomplished industry veteran, Dr. Leveque has significant experience in immuno-oncology drug development, with a focus on bringing novel therapies to patients living with cancer.

Dr. Leveque will lead the ongoing and planned pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials of ARMO's  lead investigational immuno-oncology drug AM0010 (pegilodecakin, PEGylated Interleukin-10) as well as the plans to advance the Company's pipeline, which includes an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody.

"Joe has been on the forefront of innovation in the immuno-oncology field and has successfully brought multiple drugs to patients," said Peter Van Vlasselaer, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ARMO BioSciences.  "After being involved in developing some of the most important breakthrough immuno-oncology drugs, Joe brings valuable experience to the company as we advance AM0010, which we believe may offer the next important breakthrough in this field. We are confident that Joe will help drive the full potential of this novel cancer therapy as well as our broader pipeline."

"Over the past decade, I was involved in the development and commercialization of the first generation of immuno-oncology (IO) therapeutics, including a CTLA-4 inhibitor, a PD-1 inhibitor, and a PD-L1 inhibitor," said Dr. Leveque.  "I believe next-generation IO therapeutics like AM0010, used alone or in combination with other IO therapies or other novel approaches, have the promise to significantly advance the oncology field and provide renewed hope to cancer patients who have difficult-to-treat tumors."

Dr. Leveque has more than 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry leading teams in the successful development and commercialization of oncology therapeutics. Dr. Leveque was the Chief Medical Officer of EMD Serono, the North America subsidiary of Merck KGaA and the Vice President and Head of U.S. Medical Oncology at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) where he was involved in the development and commercialization of the first generation of immuno-oncology (IO) therapeutics, including Bavencio®, Opdivo® and Yervoy®.  Prior to BMS, Dr. Leveque was the Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where he was involved in the development of Kyprolis® and was recognized by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation as one of the top 15 innovators in multiple myeloma over the last 15 years. Earlier in his career, he served as Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs at Cephalon Oncology and a Medical Director at Amgen, where he worked on several therapeutic programs for solid tumor and hematological malignancies. 

Dr. Leveque received a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences with an emphasis in biology from the Santa Clara University. He earned a Medical Doctorate from University of Texas School of Medicine in Houston and completed his post-graduate medical training in internal medicine at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a teaching affiliate of UCLA. In addition, Dr. Leveque holds a Master in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About ARMO BioSciences
ARMO BioSciences is a late-stage immuno-oncology company that is developing a pipeline of novel, proprietary products that activate the immune system of cancer patients to recognize and eradicate tumors. The Company's lead product candidate, AM0010 (pegilodecakin), stimulates the survival, expansion and killing (cytotoxic) potential of a particular type of white blood cell in the immune system called CD8+ T cells.  CD8+ T cells recognize and kill cancer cells and an increased presence of intra-tumoral CD8+ T cells may result in improved prognosis and survival in patients.

In addition, ARMO is developing a robust immuno-oncology pipeline that includes validated product candidates such as an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, aimed at treating a variety of cancers in combination with standard of care treatments and emerging immunotherapies.

For more information, please visit www.armobio.com.

SOURCE ARMO BioSciences, Inc.

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