CHICAGO, IL and FORT WORTH, TX, March 1, 2017 – Actuate Therapeutics, Inc., a Chicago-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of Francis J. Giles, MB, MD, FRCPI, FRCPath to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Giles will be responsible for advancing Actuate’s research and development initiatives, leading the clinical programs, and supporting external collaborations and strategic partnerships.
“We are very excited and fortunate to have Dr. Giles, a world-renowned expert in oncology developmental therapeutics, join Actuate as we transition to a clinical stage company. Since our founding in 2015, the Actuate team has significantly advanced our development programs. We are on course to submit an IND to the FDA this year and plan to initiate our first-in-human phase 1 trial in cancer patients shortly thereafter. Frank’s expertise and experience will be instrumental in advancing our programs into the clinic.” said Daniel Schmitt, President & CEO of Actuate.
In addition to his new role at Actuate Therapeutics, Dr. Giles currently serves as Director of Developmental Therapeutics at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Center of Northwestern University where he has also served as Deputy Director and as Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He previously served as Deputy Director of the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center, San Antonio, and Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Director of the Institute for Drug Development. His prior positions include serving as Chairman, Clinical Research Committee, and Professor in the Division of Cancer Medicine at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; and as a faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the founder and Chairman of both the International Oncology Study Group and the Developmental Therapeutics Consortium. Dr. Giles has led the development of novel drugs, immunotherapies, and other highly targeted approaches, including cancer-directed viruses, monoclonal antibodies, and molecularly directed agents. He has served as principal investigator on numerous national and international First in Human, Phase I, II, and III clinical studies of many novel agents, and holds numerous patents and technology licenses.
“I am very excited to join Actuate at this juncture in their development. They have identified a unique target for the treatment of resistant cancers, and their results in reversing that resistance in difficult–to-treat cancers are quite compelling.” said Dr Giles. “Clearly, based on what we have seen in preclinical models, the most important immediate task is to advance the Actuate programs into the clinic to assess the potential benefit to patients suffering from the most refractory of cancers and inflammation-driven diseases.”
Actuate was formed to develop and advance therapies for high impact cancers and inflammatory diseases, including those leading to fibrosis. The most advanced program is focused on development of a portfolio of small molecule GSK-3β inhibitors invented at University of Illinois-Chicago and developed under a collaboration with the Center for Developmental Therapeutics in the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) Institute at Northwestern University. Actuate has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to the intellectual property and know-how from both institutions.
About Actuate Therapeutics, Inc. Actuate is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new novel therapeutics for high impact cancers and inflammatory diseases. For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at http://www.actuatetherapeutics.com