NERVIANO, IT and BOSTON, Mass, January 12, 2023 – Nerviano Medical Sciences S.r.l., a part of NMS Group S.p.A. (NMS Group), focused on the discovery and early development of oncology drugs and the largest oncological R&D company in Italy, announced today the senior appointment to drive validation and maximize the value of its IDH1/IDH2 Inhibitor Asset, NMS-173, and facilitate its expanding and advancing clinical pipeline. Terrence West, MBA, joins as New Business, Virtual CEO.
Mr. West is a seasoned biopharma executive with over 25 years of experience in all levels of both public and private organizations leading and managing pipeline development across multiple therapeutic areas. He is based in the U.S., working from the U.S. subsidiary (Nerviano Medical Sciences, Inc./ NMS-US) in Boston, which launched mid last year in the US to aggressively promote the company’s transformation plan by expanding in the world’s key biotech and pharmaceutical market. “With the addition of Terrence to the executive team, we are beginning to really establish our footprint in the Boston area,” stated Lisa Mahnke, M.D., PhD, Board Member and Chief Medical Officer of NMS S.r.l. and CEO NMS-US. “NMS-173 is one of our key assets supporting our oncology forward approach, delivering therapies to patients with unmet medical need.”
“After having known and worked with Terrence for many years, I know his expansive experience in both start-up and established biopharmaceutical companies will make a significant contribution to the performance and success of our portfolio,” said Hugues Dolgos, Pharm.D., Chief Executive Officer, NMS Group. “As new business CEO, he will be responsible for strategically and competitively positioning NMS-173 with potential partners and investors, differentiating it from currently approved cancer therapies. As a highly potent dual IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitor with a covalent mode of action in contrast to FDA-approved drugs which only inhibit IDH1 or IDH2, NMS-173 can potentially overcome resistance mechanisms and has potential for broader applications across different genetic variants.”
“I am delighted to join NMS and work with both the U.S. and Italian teams.” said Mr. West. “As a second generation IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitor, compared to first generation, FDA-approved drugs, NMS-173 has shown statistically significant anti-tumor activity in an aggressive model of cholangiocarcinoma, better biomarker modulation in orthotopic glioma in vivo and better disease control in AML models. As a clinic-ready drug, I am excited to bring NMS-173 forward, as it could be life changing for patients.”
Terrence West was most recently a member of the Executive Leadership Team, Vice President, Head of Program Management and Interim Head of Clinical Development at Bicycle Therapeutics leading four assets into the clinic globally and an integral team member leading to a successful IPO. He previously served as Executive Director, Program Management at EMD Serono (a division of Merck KGaA), leading the development, global registration and commercialization of multiple oncology drugs. He got his start working in program management for biopharmaceutical companies on the West Coast (Exelixis and Dynavax) before he expanded his career in the Boston area (Stryker Regenerative Medicine and ZioPharm Oncology). Mr. West holds a MBA from the University of Phoenix, San Francisco and a BS in Chemistry from the University of Arizona.
Link: Terry West joins NMS-US as New Business Virtual CEO
from NMSGroup
