July 22, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Watertown, Mass.-based FORMA Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that John Hohneker, most recently senior vice president and global head of Development, Immunology and Dermatology at Novartis AG , will join FORMA as executive vice president and head of research and development.
“John’s expertise in advancing therapeutics from preclinical through health authority approval across multiple therapeutic areas, including 17 drug launches, provides FORMA with proven clinical development leadership as we plan to initiate first-in-human studies this year,” said Steven Tregay, president and chief executive officer of FORMA in a statement. “His strength in building high performing teams, portfolio strategy and franchise development is ideally suited for having a broad impact with FORMA’s target family discovery approach.”
FORMA uses screening and structure-based approaches to identifying potential drugs across broad families of targets involved in tumor metabolism, epigenetics, protein homeostasis and protein-protein interactions.
On June 17, 2015, FORMA announced a successful preclinical milestone in its collaboration with Celgene Corporation . The collaboration was announced in April 2014. Although the announcement did not have a lot of specifics, Celgene obtained an exclusive European Union license for a specifically defined clinical program and related compounds. Payments to FORMA were not disclosed. But under the agreement, FORMA will take the program through Phase I. Celgene will handle global clinical development. Phase I studies are expected to begin in the second half of 2015.
In March of this year, FORMA also announced the formation of two new virtual Asset Discovery and Development Companies (ADDCos) with London-based Cancer Research Technology, Ltd. (CRT). The deal involves novel chemical matter targeting undisclosed deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). CRT is the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK.
The two companies have an ongoing initiative to discover tools, technology and drug candidates against several DUBs that regulate protein homeostasis. FORMA will utilize its drug discovery capabilities with CRT’s Discovery Laboratories (CRT-DL) to translate academic work from Cancer Research UK scientists’s discoveries.
The company also indicates it has a second pipeline product moving into trials this year. “With two new compounds expected to enter the clinic this year, FORMA is just beginning to realize its full potential as a driver of innovation that can change the lives of patients with cancer,” said Hohneker in a statement. “Together with the executive team, I look forward to leading and accelerating that journey.”
While at Novartis, Hohneker was responsible for numerous global development launches, including Cosentyx, Xolair and Ilaris. While senior vice president of U.S. Oncology Clinical Development and Medical Affairs he played a major role in Gleevec, Tasigna, Zometa, Afinitor and Exjade launches. Prior to Novartis Hohneker worked for Glaxo Wellcome.
