Entos Recruits William Rastetter to Board and Announces Clinical Advisory Board

LA JOLLA, CA – Entos, Inc announces the recruitment of legendary biotech executive William (Bill) Rastetter as an independent board director, as well as establishment of a world-class clinical advisory board with founding members Dr Alex Adjei, Dr Maria Koehler, and Dr Kwok-Kin Wong.

Bill Rastetter is a scientist, entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Between 1986 and 2003, Rastetter held positions as President, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director at IDEC Pharmaceuticals. At IDEC, Rastetter was a co-inventor of and developed Rituxan, the first monoclonal antibody (mAb) to be approved by the FDA for cancer therapy. In 2003, Idec merged with Biogen to form the third largest biotech firm in the United States. Rastetter was Executive Chair of the new company, Biogen IDEC, from 2003 to 2005.

Rastetter was also a co-founder, interim CEO and Chairman of Receptos, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company which was bought by Celgene Corporation in 2015.  He was a founding board member and investor in GRAIL, Inc in Menlo Park, California, and served for a period as the company's interim CEO (2017) and chair (2017-18). He was a partner in the venture firm Venrock (2006-2013), and a trustee at Caltech (2015-18). He served as a director (1998-2016) and as chair of Illumina (2005-16). Currently, Rastetter is the chair of Neurocrine Biosciences, Fate Therapeutics, and Daré Bioscience.
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“Bill Rastetter brings an unparalleled depth of biotech experience and vision to the Entos leadership. To say that we are excited about him joining the Entos team is an understatement.”
- Tom Miller, Entos co-founder and CEO

Additionally, Entos announces the creation of a Clinical Advisory Board with a world-class founding roster that includes Drs Alex Adjei, Maria Koehler, and Kwok-Kin Wong.
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“Establishment of the Clinical Advisory Board marks the new chapter of Entos as a clinical-stage therapeutics company.”
- Fred Manby, Entos co-founder and CTO

Alex A. Adjei is Chairman of the Taussig Cancer Institute and the M. Frank Rudy and Margaret D. Rudy Distinguished Chair in Translational Cancer Research at Cleveland Clinic. In this role, Dr Adjei oversees cancer care and research across all Cleveland Clinic locations in Ohio, Florida and Abu Dhabi, UAE.  Previously, he served as a consultant in oncology, professor of oncology and professor of pharmacology at Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, Minn. He also oversaw oncology drug development, as well as lung cancer research and treatment across various Mayo Clinic sites.  Dr. Adjei has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, and he is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.  Among numerous awards and honors, Dr. Adjei has received the Adi F. Gazdar Merit Award from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer for Distinguished Achievement in Lung Cancer Research and Mentorship.

Maria Koehler, MD, PhD, is a hematologist/oncologist with a successful academic career and more than 20 years of experience in both large, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.  Since May 2019, Koehler serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Repare Therapeutics, a public, clinical-stage biotech.  Previously, she was CMO at Bicycle Therapeutics for 2 years, and after serving as VP of Strategy & Innovation for Pfizer Oncology for close to 10 years, spearheading major acquisitions and strategic portfolio decisions within the leadership team. Koehler played a central role in the development of Ibrance, a >$5B cancer medicine.  She has co-authored >150 publications, book chapters and patents, and she serves in numerous board and advisory roles.

Kwok-Kin Wong, MD, PhD, joined the Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University (NYU) Langone Health as its new Chief of Hematology and Medical Oncology in 2017, following a decades-long career at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  As a Professor of Medicine and a practicing clinical oncologist, Dr. Wong’s research has provided new insight into the genetic and environmental causes of lung cancer, enabling testing of novel lung cancer therapies. He has received acclaim for clarifying the role of genes such as EGFR, ALK, and PIK3CA, which control normal cell growth and survival but when mutated become major drivers of abnormal, cancerous growth. By creating genetically engineered mice harboring these mutations, his lab has revealed its contribution to lung cancer development.
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“Drs. Adjei, Koehler, and Wong bring clinical, operational, and scientific leadership to the Entos team. The caliber of medical experts that we have recruited reflects enthusiasm for the Entos lead programs that are rapidly advancing towards human clinical trials.”  
- Chao Zhang, Entos CSO

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About Entos‍

Entos is disrupting the therapeutics landscape with its cutting-edge generative AI drug discovery platform.  Headquartered in La Jolla, CA, the Entos team unites pioneering AI experts and seasoned drug hunters with strong track records of success in delivering clinically validated breakthrough treatments. Entos stands alone in providing concrete demonstration of a fully AI-enabled platform to deliver high quality, differentiated drugs to clinic with unprecedented speed and across multiple target classes and mechanisms of action.  The Entos team is advancing an internal pipeline of clinical assets to address urgent unmet patient need in oncology.  Learn more about Entos' team, platform, and pipeline at www.entos.ai.

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FGS Global

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