ORIC Pharmaceuticals Appoints Christian V. Kuhlen, M.D., as General Counsel

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, today announced that Christian V. Kuhlen, M.D., has been named General Counsel. Dr. Kuhlen will serve on the executive leadership team and lead ORIC's legal, compliance, intellectual property, and corporate governance functions.

"We are thrilled to continue attracting top talent to ORIC's experienced leadership team, which has been significantly reshaped over the past 18 months," said Jacob Chacko, M.D., Chief Executive Officer. "With over 15 years of experience as counsel to leading biotechnology companies, Chris has demonstrated outstanding judgement and legal acumen.  In his prior roles as General Counsel of three public companies—including Synthorx, Inc. and Ignyta, Inc.—Chris helped steer them through critical strategic events like public financings, business development transactions, and mergers and acquisitions, making him an exceptional addition to our team."

"I am delighted and honored to join ORIC at this pivotal time in the company's history," said Dr. Kuhlen. "I look forward to working again with Jacob and with ORIC's talented and passionate team to advance its pipeline of novel therapies aimed at overcoming resistance in cancer."

Dr. Kuhlen has extensive depth and breadth of expertise as General Counsel for biotechnology companies, where he has been responsible for legal, SEC, human resources, intellectual property, and corporate governance functions. Most recently, Dr. Kuhlen served as General Counsel and Secretary for Synthorx, where he led the legal aspects of its initial public offering and advised on the company's subsequent acquisition by Sanofi. Prior to Synthorx, Dr. Kuhlen was General Counsel at Ignyta, where he coordinated two public financings and advised on the company's acquisition by Roche. Before Ignyta, Dr. Kuhlen served as General Counsel of Genoptix, Inc., where he led the legal function from its initial public offering to its successful acquisition by Novartis. Prior to Genoptix, he was an attorney in private practice with Cooley LLP. Dr. Kuhlen holds a B.S. in biochemistry and cell biology and a B.A. in economics from the University of California, San Diego, and a M.D. and J.D. from the University of Southern California.

About ORIC Pharmaceuticals

ORIC Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patients' lives by Overcoming Resistance In Cancer.  ORIC's lead product candidate, ORIC-101, is a potent and selective small molecule antagonist of the glucocorticoid receptor, which has been linked to resistance to multiple classes of cancer therapeutics across a variety of solid tumors. ORIC's second product candidate, ORIC-533, is an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, a key node in the adenosine pathway believed to play a central role in resistance to chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens.  Beyond these two product candidates, ORIC is also developing multiple precision medicines targeting other hallmark cancer resistance mechanisms. ORIC's scientific founders, Charles Sawyers, MD, and Scott Lowe, PhD, have long records of discovering novel targets in cancer that have led to innovative treatments. The company has assembled strong leadership and scientific teams and a board with extensive experience in drug development and financing. ORIC is headquartered in South San Francisco, California. For more information, please go to http://oricpharma.com/.

Contact:
Dominic Piscitelli, Chief Financial Officer
650-388-5600
[email protected]

SOURCE ORIC Pharmaceuticals

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