PMV Pharma Appoints Salim Yazji, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

CRANBURY, N.J., March 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PMV Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the discovery and development of p53-targeted small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of Dr. Salim Yazji as Chief Medical Officer.  Dr. Yazji was most recently Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Calimmune, Inc.

"Salim's depth of experience and proven leadership in shepherding innovative products from pre-clinical development through product approval will be critical as we advance towards the clinic," said David Mack, Ph.D., President and CEO of PMV Pharma.  "We are delighted to welcome Salim to our team. Salim's rich experience in leading oncology clinical trials and drug development will help define our clinical and regulatory strategies for our multiple programs." Salim will be based in the Boston area where the Company's clinical and regulatory operations will be located. 

"PMV Pharma is at the forefront of developing transformational products in oncology," said Dr. Salim Yazji. "I am thrilled to join the PMV Pharma team at this important juncture with the opportunity to work alongside a highly skilled scientific team, key opinion leaders and management team."

Dr. Yazji will apply over 20 years of experience to the leadership of PMV Pharma's clinical development and regulatory teams. At Calimmune, he led the clinical and regulatory teams through the company's sale to CSL Behring.  Prior to joining Calimmune, he was Vice President and Global Therapeutic Head at Baxalta, Inc. where he was responsible for building the oncology medical organizations as well as expanding and advancing the oncology product pipeline into multiple successful global marketing authorizations. Prior to Baxter International's spinoff of its bioscience business unit to create Baxalta, Dr. Yazji served as Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head of Oncology at Baxter.

Prior to his role at Baxter, Dr. Yazji held leadership positions at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, most recently as Senior Global Clinical Leader, Hematology Development. Prior to Novartis Pharmaceutical, Dr. Yazji held senior clinical research physician and medical director roles at Exelixis, Inc., PDL BioPharma, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Yazji obtained his medical degree from the Pavlov School of Medicine, University of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia and completed postgraduate training at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Park Plaza Hospital, Houston and Department of Cardiology, Almozov Hospital, St. Petersburg, Russia.

About PMV Pharma
PMV Pharma was co-founded by Dr. Arnold Levine, one of the discoverers of the p53 protein and a professor emeritus at the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study. p53 is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer, with over 50 percent of all human tumors containing a p53 mutant protein.  PMV Pharma is developing first-in-class p53 and p53 pathway modulators for the treatment of cancer.  Bringing together leaders in the field to utilize over three decades of p53 biology, PMV Pharma combines unique biological understanding with pharmaceutical development focus. 

Cancer cells often have mutations in p53 that enable them to escape death.  PMV Pharma's unique mechanism of action promises to restore p53 to its normal function, eliminating this escape route and selectively killing the mutant cancer cells without affecting normal tissues. The protein plays a pivotal role in the body's natural defense mechanism against cancer and induces a highly-organized program of cellular death to prevent the proliferation of potentially cancerous cells.

PMV Pharma is headquartered in Cranbury, New Jersey.  The Company has raised over $100 million since its founding in 2013 through investments from Topspin Biotech in association with Euclidean Capital and OrbiMed Advisors and from founding investors InterWest Partners and Osage University Partners.

Contact:

David H. Mack, Ph.D.
President & CEO
PMV Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
[email protected]

Amiad Finkelthal
Russo Partners
[email protected]
(646) 942-5626
(917) 217-1838 mobile

SOURCE PMV Pharmaceuticals, Inc.