GT Biopharma, Inc. issued the following announcement on Aug. 23.
GT Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTBP), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company focused on developing innovative therapeutics based on the Company's proprietary natural killer (NK) cell engager, TriKE® protein biologic technology platform, today announced the promotion of Gregory Berk, M.D., to the position of President of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Berk has been serving as Chief Medical Officer and prior to that was a Director on the GT Biopharma Board. Dr. Berk will assume additional responsibilities, including discovery, non-clinical development, clinical development, and manufacturing.
"The Company is in the process of transferring GMP manufacturing from the University of Minnesota to Cytovance® Biologics, and Dr. Berk will be working closely with our Consulting Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Jeffrey Miller and his team at the University of Minnesota together with a team of outstanding manufacturing and regulatory colleagues to ensure this process is done with both the highest quality and as quickly as possible. Dr. Berk's promotion speaks to the priority of this for the company," said Anthony Cataldo, Chief Executive Officer of GT Biopharma.
GT Biopharma is developing GTB-3550, a trispecific natural killer (NK) cell engager TriKE®, for the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The trial is in Phase 1 dose escalation and interim Phase 1 clinical data will be presented next month in an oral session at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress. The Company has also previously announced it will be advancing additional solid tumor-directed TriKE® product candidates into the clinic in 2022.
Dr. Berk brings over 30 years of experience and expertise in oncology drug development across medicine, industry and academia. Prior to joining GT Biopharma, Dr. Berk was Chief Medical Officer of Celularity, where he was responsible for the company's oncology, infectious and degenerative disease programs. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Verastem; President, Chief Medical Officer, and Board Member of Sideris Pharmaceuticals; Chief Medical Officer of BIND Therapeutics, and Chief Medical Officer of Intellikine, which was acquired by Takeda/Millennium. Prior to his roles as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Berk was Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Development at Abraxis BioScience, where he was responsible for the Company's overall clinical strategy, including efforts to expand the indications for its lead clinical program, Abraxane®, as well as oversee the clinical development of its clinical pipeline. Dr. Berk also served on the integration leadership team during the Celgene, $3.7 Billion acquisition of Abraxis in 2010.
Dr. Berk obtained his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and completed his internship, residency, and fellowship in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he also served as a faculty member from 1989-2004. During this time, Dr. Berk served as an investigator on several industry-sponsored and cooperative group oncology clinical trials, including the pivotal trials for Gleevec® and Avastin®.
Original source can be found here.
Source: GT Biopharma, Inc.
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