Cambridge, MASS. (January 18, 2022) – Aktis Oncology, a biotechnology company discovering and developing a novel class of targeted alpha radiopharmaceuticals to treat a broad range of solid tumor cancers, today announced the expansion of their leadership team and scientific capabilities through the appointments of Tyler Benedum, PhD, as Senior Vice President, Head of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC), and Daša Lipovšek, PhD, as Vice President, Head of Lead Discovery.
“I am excited to welcome Tyler and Daša to the Aktis Oncology team, as I believe their expertise across key aspects of research and development will prove to be invaluable assets to our capabilities and growth of our pipeline,” said Matthew Roden, PhD, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Aktis Oncology. “These additions to our leadership team will help us further develop our programs as we work towards realizing the curative power of alpha radiopharmaceuticals for mainstream cancer care.”
Dr. Benedum’s role at Aktis will focus on developing radiopharmaceuticals, establishing a manufacturing network, and oversight of CMC regulatory. He spent over sixteen years at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals which, during his tenure, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company. He joined Avid in its infancy as a Research Chemist and consistently held increasing levels of responsibility from Director of Manufacturing Operations to Senior Director of Chemical Development and Manufacturing, and most recently, Vice President of CMC Development and Manufacturing. During his time at Avid, Dr. Benedum played a key role in developing and advancing AMYVID and TAUVID (both Alzheimer’s Disease positron emission tomography (PET) diagnostic imaging agents) through marketing authorization approval and commercialization. Further, he built a global manufacturing network to supply Alzheimer’s Disease clinical trials. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Washington College and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Virginia. He then completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship in natural product synthesis at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Lipovšek joins Aktis with a background in engineering target-binding proteins for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. At Aktis, she will further expand and develop the company’s pipeline of radiopharmaceuticals. Most recently, she served at Bristol Myers Squibb as Scientific Associate Director, Selection Technologies and Protein Engineering, where her group was responsible for the development of library-based protein-engineering methods and for their application to drug discovery. She also served as Director, Protein Design, for Adnexus Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb R&D Company. Prior to her time at Bristol Myers Squibb, Dr. Lipovšek’s roles include Director of Protein Engineering at Codon Devices, Inc., Visiting Scientist in Biological Engineering at MIT, and Associate Director of Biochemistry at Phylos, Inc. Dr. Lipovšek received a B.S. in Biology from MIT and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge.
About Aktis Oncology
Aktis Oncology is a biotechnology company pioneering the discovery and development of a new class of targeted alpha radiopharmaceuticals to treat a broad range of solid tumor cancers. Founded and incubated by MPM Capital, the company has developed proprietary platforms to generate tumor targeting agents with ideal properties for alpha radiotherapy. Designed for high tumor penetration and long residence time, Aktis Oncology’s molecules will quickly clear other areas of the body, thereby maximizing tumor elimination while minimizing side effects of treatment. This approach would also enable clinicians to visualize and verify target engagement prior to exposure to therapeutic radioisotopes. To learn more about Aktis Oncology, visit www.aktisoncology.com.
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