Oxford BioTherapeutics Appoints Chief Medical Officer, Abderrahim Fandi M.D., Ph.D.

OXFORD, England and SAN JOSE, California, March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Oxford BioTherapeutics ("OBT"), a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of immuno-oncology and antibody-drug conjugate based therapies, today announced the appointment of Abderrahim (Rahim) Fandi, M.D., Ph.D. to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Fandi will oversee the development of OBT's immune-oncology portfolio.

"Rahim brings a wealth of drug development expertise to OBT which will significantly benefit the company as we move our clinical development program forward in the United States for MEN1309, our novel ADC therapy currently undergoing clinical testing in Europe. Rahim's experience will also hone our clinical development strategy across our promising preclinical assets," said Christian Rohlff, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OBT.  "Rahim's appointment represents an important step in the transition of OBT into a development focused organization."

Prior to joining OBT, Dr. Fandi was Executive Director - site head at Celgene, where he led the development of several oncology compounds and participated in successful regulatory interactions, including with the FDA. At Celgene's New Jersey site in Basking Ridge, NJ, Dr. Fandi led a large multidisciplinary clinical development team before moving to Switzerland in 2014 to lead Celgene's epigenetic program. Previously, Dr. Fandi also held positions at Novartis, BMS, Astra Zeneca and Sanofi Aventis.

Rahim Fandi is a docteur of Medecine and Medical Oncology from Paris Descartes University, France. He holds a Clinical Pharmacology Oncology degree from Paris Diderot University, Lariboisière Saint-Louis, France and a Ph.D. in Experimental Pediatrics from Turin University, Italy. Additionally, he has contributed to over 100 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts including first author in lead journals such as Journal of Clinical Oncology. 

"I am very excited to be joining OBT, a leading biotechnology company with highly innovative approaches to cancer treatment, including e MEN1309, a tumor targeting ADC, which potentially can reverse immune tolerance by destroying tumor associated plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and OX001R, a first in class antibody targeting a novel cancer immune escape mechanism.  I look forward to working with Christian and the OBT team to advance these novel therapies," said Dr. Fandi.

About Oxford BioTherapeutics 

OBT is a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of immuno-oncology (IO) and antibody-drug conjugate-based therapies. OBT's IO discovery process provides unique insight into the cancer - immune cell synapse, and has identified several novel IO candidates for cancer therapy.

OBT's first two clinical programs are MEN1112 (OBT357), an ADCC* targeting Bst1/CD157-expressing AML blasts & leukemic stem cells, currently in a phase I dose escalation trial for relapsed/refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia and MEN1309 (OBT076), a DM4 ADC** targeting CD205 in triple-negative metastatic breast cancer, bladder and pancreatic cancers as well as Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. MEN1309 (OBT076) is currently also in a EU phase I dose escalation trial.

Oxford BioTherapeutics has struck multiple development deals commercially validating its unique target selection and development capabilities, including the collaboration with Menarini, which fully funds the clinical development of two clinical programs in the EU to completion of phase II proof-of-concept, while Oxford BioTherapeutics retains North American and Japan commercial rights. Additionally, two pre-clinical stage programs are partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim.

Oxford BioTherapeutics has a strong oncology focused management team and board with significant experience in developing immuno-oncology and antibody-based therapies. The company is based in Oxford, UK, and San Jose, CA. 

For further information, please see www.oxfordbiotherapeutics.com

*ADCC: Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, **ADC: Antibody-drug conjugates 

Media Contacts:
Dr. Christian Rohlff
Oxford BioTherapeutics
+44 (0)1235 861770
christian.r@oxfordbiotherapeutics.com