Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc. Appoints Luca Rastelli, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer

NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of immunotherapies utilizing small molecules to activate an individual's own immune system to fight against cancers and other diseases, announced today the appointment of Luca Rastelli PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer, effective immediately and reporting to Doug Manion, CEO.  Dr. Rastelli will lead all aspects of R&D for the company and serve as the scientific external face of Kleo Pharmaceuticals to the investor, scientific, medical and patient communities.

"We welcome Luca to the Kleo Pharmaceuticals executive team," said Kleo's Chief Executive Officer, Doug Manion, M.D., FRCP(C). "He brings more than 20 years of drug discovery and development experience and a wealth of expertise in oncology and, more specifically, immuno-oncology. Luca is the ideal leader to drive the next phase of Kleo's evolution as we complete platform validation for our various small-molecule immunotherapeutic programs and select clinical candidates for upcoming IND-enabling activities."

"We are delighted to welcome Luca to Kleo.  His considerable expertise and scientific acumen are perfectly suited to the cutting-edge science being done at Kleo.  I am confident that Luca will continue to build on the already very strong scientific team at Kleo as well as partner effectively with scientific experts the world over," said David Spiegel M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor, Kleo Pharmaceuticals.

"I am excited to join Kleo Pharmaceuticals at this very important time.  I look forward to working with Doug, David and the rest of the Kleo team to accelerate this innovative science to the clinic and then to patients as expeditiously as possible.  Kleo Pharmaceuticals is poised to become a major player in the immunotherapy landscape and I am proud to be a part of it." said Luca Rastelli, Ph.D.

Dr. Rastelli has more than 20 years of oncology drug discovery, development, and business development experience ranging from startups to large pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, he was Vice President, for Oncology at BioXcel Therapeutics which just completed a successful IPO. Luca has held multiple preclinical and clinical project leadership positions at Boston Scientifics, CuraGen, Sopherion and EMD Serono (Merck Serono). He discovered the target and led the initial development of CR011, an antibody drug conjugate agent undergoing a registrational trial in triple negative metastatic breast cancer. He was also part of the initial development of the novel immuno-oncology antibody Avelumab, a PDL-1 inhibitor. He received the American Brain Tumor Association's 25^th Anniversary Translational grant for his work on Medulloblastoma tumors at the Department of Neuro-Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a named inventor on more than 10 issued patents and holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Geneva.

About Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company founded to develop and advance the pioneering technology that originated in the laboratory of co-founder David Spiegel, M.D., Ph.D. at Yale University. Initially funded by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals Holding Ltd (NYSE: BHVN) and Connecticut Innovations, Kleo is focused on developing small molecule-based immunotherapies that emulate biologics. Our 2 novel platforms—Antibody Recruiting Molecules (ARMs™) and Synthetic Antibody Mimics (SyAMs™)— are designed to direct a patient's immune system to fight specific disease-causing cells. For more information, please visit: www.kleopharmaceuticals.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Contact:
Roy Prieb
Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
203-691-6961 ext. 202
email: [email protected]
website: www.kleopharmaceuticals.com 

SOURCE Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc.