NEW HAVEN, Conn., July 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arvinas, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARVN), a biotechnology company creating a new class of drugs based on targeted protein degradation, announced today the appointment of Ronald Peck, M.D. to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Peck brings to Arvinas more than twenty years of clinical and drug development experience, most recently serving as Senior Vice President, Clinical Research at Tesaro, where he oversaw all clinical development efforts for the company’s entire pipeline, including Zejula® (niraparib) and Tesaro’s immuno-oncology programs.
“Dr. Peck arrives at the right time for our company, as we advance ARV-110 through a Phase 1 clinical trial and expect to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of ARV-471 in the third quarter of 2019,” said John Houston, Ph.D., President and CEO of Arvinas. “Ron is a highly accomplished clinician with a strong track record of successful drug development, leading novel oncology programs from the earliest phases through to registration. His experience is strongly aligned with our goals at this pivotal time for the company.”
“Arvinas is leading the industry with its new and exciting technology platform of PROTAC® targeted protein degraders,” said Dr. Peck. “The company has tremendous momentum. With one clinical program, which also received Fast Track designation from FDA, and another program entering the clinic soon, I anticipate Arvinas will be the first company in the field to have clinical data with a targeted protein degrader. I am excited to be joining Arvinas, and look forward to pursuing the development of PROTAC® protein degraders to benefit patients and address unmet medical needs in oncology and in other devastating and life-threatening diseases.”
Prior to his work at Tesaro, Dr. Peck served as the CMO of Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held clinical-stage biotechnology company where he oversaw the clinical development of monoclonal antibodies targeting receptor tyrosine kinases. Dr. Peck began his industry career at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), where he spent 15 years in drug development, eventually serving as Vice President, YERVOY® (ipilimumab) Global Development Lead. At BMS, he played a key role in the approval and commercialization of YERVOY® (ipilimumab) across all indications and contributed to the successful development of multiple other oncology assets, including IXEMPRA® (ixabepilone). Early in his BMS career, Dr. Peck contributed to the life cycle development of ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) within the neuroscience clinical research organization. Dr. Peck received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., his M.D. from Thomas Jefferson University Medical College in Philadelphia, PA., and completed a residency and hematology/oncology fellowship at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C before serving as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia.
About PROTAC® Protein Degraders
Arvinas’ PROTAC® protein degraders harness the body’s own natural protein disposal system to degrade disease-causing proteins. PROTAC® protein degraders recruit an E3 ligase to tag the target protein with ubiquitin, which directs its degradation through the proteasome, a large protein complex that breaks down the ubiquitinated target protein into small peptides and amino acids. As the target protein is degraded, the PROTAC® protein degrader is released and acts iteratively to destroy additional target protein.
PROTAC® protein degraders offer numerous potential advantages as therapeutics, including broad tissue distribution, routes of administration that include oral delivery, and simpler manufacturing than other new modalities, such as cell-based therapies. Arvinas has developed and optimized a proprietary library of protein targeting ligands, E3 ligase ligands, and linkers, which allow the company to rapidly identify and optimize efficient protein degraders with favorable characteristics for successful drug development.
About Arvinas
Arvinas is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases through the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapies that degrade disease-causing proteins. Arvinas uses its proprietary technology platform to engineer proteolysis targeting chimeras, or PROTAC® targeted protein degraders, that are designed to harness the body’s own natural protein disposal system to selectively and efficiently degrade and remove disease-causing proteins. The company’s lead program, ARV-110 for the treatment of patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, began a Phase 1 clinical trial in the first quarter of 2019. The Investigational New Drug application (IND) for ARV-471, in development for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic ER positive / HER2 negative breast cancer, was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the second quarter of 2019. For more information, visit www.arvinas.com.
