F-star Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Edward Benz and Mr. Geoff Race to Board of Directors
CAMBRIDGE, England & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– F-star Therapeutics (“F-star”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on transforming the lives of patients with cancer through the development of innovative tetravalent bispecific (mAb2™) antibodies, today announces the appointments of Dr. Edward Benz and Mr. Geoff Race to its Board of Directors, further strengthening the depth and breadth of its clinical and industry expertise.
Dr. Edward Benz is a renowned leader in the field of oncology with a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years across industry and academia. Dr. Benz is President and Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA. He is also the Richard and Susan Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Genetics and Faculty Dean Emeritus for Oncology at Harvard Medical School. Former associate editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Benz has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications and holds several senior positions on various academic boards. He received his Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School, holds an M.A. from Yale University and a B.S. from Princeton University.
Mr. Geoff Race, FCMA, MBA, has more than 20 years of experience at both the Chief Financial and Chief Executive Officer level in the life sciences industry. He has significant global transactional and operational expertise across public and private companies He is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Minerva Neurosciences Inc, a company he co-founded in 2013 through the merger of Cyrenaic Inc and Sonkei Inc. Previously, Mr. Race served as Chief Executive Officer of Funxional Therapeutics Ltd, an early-stage research company focused on the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Mr. Race earned his MBA from Durham University Business School, UK, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Eliot Forster, CEO of F-star said: “I am excited to welcome Ed and Geoff to our Board. Their in-depth clinical and industry knowledge and wealth of international experience in medical oncology and biotechnology will be invaluable to F-star as we continue to progress our lead program, FS118, through the clinic, and as we advance two new bispecifics from our pipeline into patients.”
Dr. Edward Benz said: “F-star’s focus on hard-to-treat cancers and the Company’s rapid advancement in the clinic makes it a very exciting time to join the Board of Directors. Breakthroughs in immuno-oncology have revolutionized cancer treatment, but there continues to be a pressing need to develop new medicines, like those arising from F-star’s novel bispecific technology. I look forward to working alongside the leadership team and scientific staff as they work towards the goal of improving treatment outcomes for patients suffering from difficult-to-treat cancers.”
Geoff Race said: “I’m delighted to be joining F-star’s Board of Directors at such a crucial time in the Company’s development. Through the combination of F-star’s world-class scientific leadership team, experienced management team and differentiated bispecific platform, I believe we have a real opportunity to develop more efficacious therapies for patients with cancer and create significant shareholder value.”
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About F-star
F-star is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company singularly focused on transforming the lives of patients with cancer through the development of its innovative tetravalent mAb2 bispecific antibodies. With four distinct binding sites in a natural human antibody format, F-star believes its proprietary approach will overcome many of the challenges facing current immuno-oncology therapies. F-star’s vision is to transform the treatment of cancer through the development of differentiated and well-tolerated mAb2 bispecific antibodies, which are designed to simultaneously address multiple immune evasion pathways that limit the effect of current immuno-oncology therapies.
mAb2™ is a trademark of F-star.
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