11 April 2022
BerGenBio ASA: BerGenBio strengthens its leadership team with appointment of Cristina Oliva as Chief Medical Officer
Bergen, Norway, 11 April 2022 – BerGenBio ASA (OSE:BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, selective AXL inhibitors for severe unmet medical needs, today announces the appointment of Cristina Oliva, MD as Chief Medical Officer (CMO), effective 25 April 2022. Cristina joins the senior leadership team heading up clinical development of BerGenBio’s selective AXL inhibitor programs.
Cristina is a Board-certified oncologist and brings over 20 years of senior clinical development experience across large pharmaceutical, biotechnology and Clinical Research Organizations (CROs). Most recently Cristina was Vice President, Oncology and Head of Oncology Centre of Excellence at IQVIA Ltd, where she led the development of decentralized trials and established and led the IQVIA Oncology Global Scientific Advisory Board. Prior to her role at IQVIA, Cristina held senior positions leading oncology development programs for Nordic Nanovector, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly.
Martin Olin, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Cristina as our new Chief Medical Officer. Cristina’s leadership experience within oncology drug development across big pharma, biotech and CRO environments will be instrumental in executing BerGenBio’s development strategy for our AXL inhibitor programs, including our most advanced program bemcentinib, currently in phase II trials.”
On her appointment as Chief Medical Officer at BerGenBio, Cristina Oliva, MD, commented:”BerGenBio is on the frontier of developing novel, highly selective AXL inhibitors for the treatment of severe diseases such as oncology and respiratory infections. I’m very excited to join BerGenBio at this critical phase and look forward to working with the senior leadership team to help further advance its AXL inhibitor programs.”
Contacts:
For BerGenBio: Martin Olin CEO, BerGenBio ASA
ir@bergenbio.com
Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com
International Media Relations
Mary-Jane Elliott, Chris Welsh, Lucy Featherstone
Consilium Strategic Communications
bergenbio@consilium-comms.com
+44 20 3709 5700
About BerGenBio ASA
BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential cornerstone of therapy for aggressive diseases, including immune-evasive, therapy resistant cancers. The company’s proprietary lead candidate, bemcentinib, is a potentially first-in-class selective AXL inhibitor in a broad phase II clinical development programme focused on combination and single agent therapy in cancer and COVID-19. A first-in-class functional blocking anti-AXL antibody, tilvestamab, is undergoing phase I clinical testing.
BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). For more information, visit www.bergenbio.com
Forward looking statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which as such are not historical facts, but are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. These assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors. Suchrisks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this announcement by such forward-looking statements.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
About Oncoinvent
Oncoinvent is developing Radspherin®, a receptor-independent alpha radiation therapy that leverages the unique anatomy of the abdominal cavity to destroy residual micrometastases using a single, highly localized dose of alpha radiation. The initial clinical focus is treatment of ovarian and colorectal cancer patients after surgical removal of the primary tumor and visible metastases in the peritoneum, the thin membrane lining the abdominal cavity and covering the abdominal organs.
This radiopharmaceutical is designed to prevent or delay recurrence in the peritoneal cavity, keeping patients disease-free for longer than the current standard of care and thereby also impacting overall survival. It is broadly applicable to any cancer that spreads to the peritoneum, e.g. ovarian, colorectal, and gastric cancers. Radspherin® stands out for its simplicity, excellent safety profile, and seamless integration into existing surgical workflows. Oncoinvent’s product is easy to use, avoids systemic delivery and significant toxicity. It is also differentiated in being simple to manufacture, scalable, and supply de-risked.
Data from two trials in ovarian (phase 1) and colorectal (phase 1/2a) cancers, are highly promising, showing an excellent safety profile and meaningful signals of efficacy. Interim data from an ongoing, randomized, controlled phase 2 ovarian cancer trial is expected in 2026. With cost-effective manufacturing, blockbuster potential, active pharma partnership momentum, plus strong endorsements from leading experts, Oncoinvent is built for scale and commercial success, and is set to become the new standard for post-surgical cancer care. The Company was founded by the originators of Algeta and Xofigo (acquired by Bayer).
