Summit Therapeutics Inc. announced that Manmeet S. Soni has been appointed as the Company?s Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Soni will remain a member of the Company?s Board of Directors. Mr. Soni has over 20 years of financial and operational leadership experience and joins Summit from Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he was President, Chief Operating Officer, & Chief Financial Officer.

His tenure at Reata culminated in its sale to Biogen Inc. for $7.5 billion. Prior to joining Reata, Mr. Soni was the CFO at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. He was also the CFO at Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was purchased by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for $5.4 billion in 2017.

Mr. Soni was the CFO at Pharmacyclics Inc., which, along with the leadership of Mr. Duggan and Dr. Zanganeh, was sold to AbbVie Inc. for $21 billion in 2015. He serves on the Board of Directors of Pulse Biosciences Inc. and was previously a board member at Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was later sold to Pfizer Inc. for $6.7 billion. Mr. Soni has led an array of functions including finance, manufacturing, various strategic functions including ex-US commercial strategy and business development, as well as quality, risk, and program management, amongst others.

Throughout his leadership career, he has raised over $7 billion through a variety of financing and business development deals. Summit announces that, effective immediately, the following elevated appointments have been made: Dave Gancarz as Chief Business & Strategy Officer; Urte Gayko, PhD, as Chief Regulatory, Quality, & Pharmacovigilance Officer; Fong Clow, DSc, as Chief Biometrics Officer; Allen S. Yang, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer. Mr. Gancarz joined Summit in November 2020 and has held roles of increasing breadth and responsibility.

Of note, Mr. Gancarz led the transaction between Summit and Akeso Inc. to in-license the novel, potentially first-in-class bispecific antibody, ivonescimab, that has become the cornerstone of Summit?s product pipeline. Mr. Gancarz brings over 15 years of strategic leadership, operational, and financial experience. He previously held various leadership roles at Athenahealth Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Mr. Gancarz earned his undergraduate and master?s degrees at Stonehill College. As Chief Business & Strategy Officer, he is responsible for business development, corporate strategy, stakeholder relations, alliance management, program management, and medical affairs. Dr. Gayko initially joined Summit as a member of the Board of Directors before transitioning from the Board into a full-time role on leadership team in April 2022.

Dr. Gayko was previously the Global Head of Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance at Pharmacyclics, as well as Senior Vice President of Drug Development & Regulatory Affairs at Nektar Therapeutics. She brings over 20 years of experience in areas encompassing regulatory and clinical development ranging from pre-commercial entities to large biopharmaceutical companies, including Amgen Inc. and AbbVie Inc. Dr. Gayko led the regulatory approval process for 12 US indications for IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib) while at Pharmacyclics. She performed her PhD research in molecular and cellular biology at Harvard University.

Dr. Gayko is responsible for regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and safety sciences in her role as Chief Regulatory, Quality, & Pharmacovigilance Officer. Dr. Clow joined Summit in July 2021 after over a decade of leadership at Pharmacyclics and later AbbVie. Dr. Clow brings over 30 years of experience, leading extensive teams in biometrics and drug development, including leadership roles at Genentech Inc. and Novacea Inc. Specifically, her leadership in biometrics and drug development has contributed to 19 approvals across oncology, cardiovascular, and neurology indications.

Dr. Clow has published over 60 manuscripts and conference abstracts. She received her doctoral and master?s degrees from Harvard T.S. Chan School of Public Health, where, in 2019, she received the prestigious Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award. In her role as Chief Biometrics Officer, Dr. Clow is responsible for all biometrics-related activities, including leading biostatistics and data management.

Dr. Yang joined Summit in July 2023, leading clinical development and research activities at Summit. Dr. Yang brings a wealth of experience in clinical oncology, immunotherapy, and bispecific antibody development through his over 20 years of combined clinical and industry experience. Dr. Yang previously served as Chief Medical Officer at Xencor Inc. and was the acting CMO at Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC after serving in roles of increasing leadership responsibility starting with leading the hematology and oncology therapeutic area.

Dr. Yang was previously on faculty at the University of Southern California, where he also earned his medical degree and PhD. He performed his fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where he was Chief Fellow. Dr. Yang will continue to lead clinical development and all research-related activities in his role as Chief Medical Officer.