ZielBio Appoints Alan Bash CEO as Company Advances Oncology Therapeutics

Phase 1/2 clinical trial of ZB131 to begin enrolling expansion cohorts in early 2023

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Jan. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZielBio, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering new treatments for cancer through its innovative drug discovery platform, has appointed Alan S. Bash as the company's new Chief Executive Officer and member of the company's Board of Directors. 

The appointment of Mr. Bash comes as ZielBio reaches the completion of enrollment in the Phase 1, dose escalation, open-label study of lead asset ZB131 (proposed international nonproprietary name Ibentatug), a cancer specific plectin (CSP)-targeting functional antibody, in tumors likely to express CSP.  The company plans to open Phase 2 expansion cohorts with ZB131 as monotherapy and in combination with a standard of care therapeutic in the first quarter of 2023.

"I am excited to work with Alan, continuing ZielBio's mission to bring innovative therapeutics to patients," said Dr. Kimberly Kelly, who will continue to serve ZielBio as President, Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of Directors. "I am encouraged by the preliminary safety data from our clinical trial. With an expanding clinical program in several cancers with high unmet need on the horizon, Alan arrives at a pivotal time for our company."

Dieter Weinand, Chairman of the Board of ZielBio said, "We are very pleased to welcome Alan to lead ZielBio through its next phase of growth. Alan's demonstrated ability to develop and commercialize innovative treatments for cancer patients, combined with his experience in both large pharmaceutical and smaller biotechnology settings, will provide the strategic and operational expertise needed to help ZielBio reach its full potential."

"ZielBio has demonstrated a unique capability to discover novel targets and has already brought a promising, highly differentiated antibody, ZB131, into the clinic," said Mr. Bash. "I am honored to work alongside Kimberly Kelly and the entire ZielBio team, to help make a difference in the lives of patients with difficult-to-treat tumors."

Mr. Bash most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded clinical-stage oncology biotechnology company that was acquired by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in May 2022. He joined Checkmate after a 22-year career at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), where he served as Senior Vice President, Commercial Model Innovation, and prior to that, Senior Vice President for Immunology and Fibrosis, partnering with Research & Development to advance early and late-stage assets in the integrated BMS and Celgene portfolios. During his years leading teams in oncology at BMS, he led  the U.S. launch of the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, Opdivo®, and the first FDA-approved checkpoint combination. He also served as Worldwide Vice President for BMS's lung cancer franchise and led the product team for a targeted antibody for head and neck cancer and colorectal cancer. He earned his BA from Georgetown University and his MBA from Columbia Business School.

ZielBio is a clinical stage biotechnology company that identifies novel disease targets and develops therapeutic interventions to improve patient outcomes. Its proprietary drug discovery platform ZielFind combines the power of functional, high throughput screening with large content data analytics to identify high value targets. ZielBio has a promising pipeline of therapies and targets, including novel lead asset ZB131 (proposed international nonproprietary name Ibentatug), a proprietary humanized monoclonal antibody against cancer specific plectin. The company's clinical trial of ZB131 is open and enrolling with additional study details available at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05074472).

SOURCE ZielBio, Inc.