Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that Brian Schwartz, M.D. will assume the role of interim Chief Medical Officer (?CMO?) of the Company effective immediately. Dr. Schwartz will succeed Mark Kirschbaum, M.D., whose employment was terminated by the Company. Dr. Schwartz has served as a member of the board of directors of the Company since December 2020.

He has wide-ranging experience as a drug development expert in biopharmaceutical companies, primarily in oncology, hematology, and rare disease indications. From June 2008 to 2020, he served as Senior Vice President, Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer of ArQule Inc., which was acquired for $2.7bn by Merck & Co. in 2020.

Prior to ArQule, Dr. Schwartz was Chief Medical Officer at Ziopharm, having previously held several senior leadership roles at Bayer and LEO Pharma. He is currently a Board Member of Enlivex and medical consultant for a number of biotech companies. He received his medical degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, completed a fellowship at the University of Toronto, Canada and practiced medicine prior to his career in the biopharmaceutical industry.