Diakonos Oncology Appoints Biotech Veteran Anthony Baldor as Chief Financial Officer

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Diakonos Oncology Corp. (“Diakonos”), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company, announced today that Anthony Baldor has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Baldor brings 20 years of financial management experience in the biotech industry including fundraising, business development, and corporate strategy. Mr. Baldor comes to Diakonos from 4D Molecular Therapeutics where he played critical leadership roles in the Series C, IPO and partnership activities as Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development.

“Anthony Baldor is a critical and timely addition to the Diakonos management team,” said Diakonos Chief Executive Officer Mike Wicks. “With his impressive track record in financing and business operations, Anthony will play a key leadership role as Diakonos moves toward developing its unique pipeline of dendritic cell vaccines for cancer.”

Before working at 4D Molecular, Mr. Baldor was at Jefferies, LLC, where he covered 22 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the Equity Research group, and supported the raise of over $2 billion, including 8 IPOs. Mr. Baldor also was a Principal at BioInnovation Capital, LLC, an Associate at RMI Partners, Director of Business Development at ViThera Pharmaceuticals, and Director of Business Development at Cambridge Biolabs.

Mr. Baldor holds an MBA and Master of Data Science from the University of California, Berkley, and a BA from Vassar College.

“I am excited to join Diakonos and help advance its robust pipeline of ground breaking cancer immunotherapies based on a revolutionary technology,” said Mr. Baldor. “I am also impressed with the management’s personal commitment to helping cancer patients.”

Diakonos is unlocking the full potential of dendritic cell vaccines based on a highly differentiated technology that solves challenges faced by historical attempts. This unique approach allows targeting of the complete cancer antigen profile without requiring any genetic modification of the patient’s immune cells. Based on a discovery of how dendritic cells detect viral threats, the vaccines harness a natural immune response that targets and eliminates cancer cells as if they were virally infected.

About Diakonos Oncology Corp.

Based out of Houston, TX, Diakonos Oncology is at the forefront of developing dendritic cell vaccines that leverage a patient’s immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells, mimicking the body’s natural response to viral infections. Initiating a natural immune response without any genetic modification of the patient’s immune cells, Diakonos has seen both encouraging efficacy and safety in its clinical trials to date.

With its leading candidate, DOC1021, Diakonos recently completed its Phase 1 trial for glioblastoma (NCT04552886) at MD Anderson Cooper and UTHealth Houston. Diakonos is underway with additional trials for pancreatic cancer at Baylor College of Medicine (NCT04157127) and angiosarcoma at MD Anderson (NCT05799612).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240226423808/en/