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Targeting innate, acquired and bypass resistance—with the end goal of transforming lives
ORIC was established in 2014 with a bold vision of Overcoming Resistance In Cancer.
Resistance limits the efficacy of otherwise significant cancer treatment breakthroughs, regardless of modality. Our ambition at ORIC is to discover and develop innovative therapies that benefit patients with cancer, including by making existing therapies more effective for a longer period of time.
Our initial project was a small molecule antagonist of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which has been implicated in resistance to various treatment modalities—including anti-hormonal therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy—and across multiple cancers. The resulting product candidate, ORIC-101, is now being studied in clinical trials for a range of solid tumors.
ORIC-101 and other pipeline programs are a result of rigorous, hands-on experimentation and medicinal chemistry efforts led by our internal team of scientists in biology, medicinal chemistry, DMPK and translational medicine, with assistance from academic collaborators and continued guidance from our founders and board members. This collective team maintains an unwavering focus on improving the lives of patients by tackling the problem of cancer treatment resistance.
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Leadership Team
Our leadership team has advanced multiple oncology therapeutics from early-stage research to clinical trials, and ultimately to regulatory approval and commercialization at biopharmaceutical companies like Ignyta, Medivation, Aragon, Seragon, Synthorx and Genentech.
Jacob Chacko, MD!
President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member
Jacob Chacko, MD!
President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member
Dr. Chacko was most recently CFO of Ignyta, a NASDAQ-listed precision oncology company acquired by Roche in February 2018. At Ignyta, he had a broad operational role and helped raise over $500 million in capital. During his tenure, the company grew from fewer than 20 employees and a $50 million enterprise value to 125 employees and a $1.7 billion enterprise value at the time of acquisition. Prior to Ignyta, Dr. Chacko was an investor at TPG Capital, where he helped lead teams that completed acquisitions having an aggregate value of over $10 billion. Prior to that, he was a consultant serving healthcare clients at McKinsey & Company.
Dr. Chacko currently serves on the board of directors of 4D Molecular Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FDMT), and he chairs the board of directors of Bright Peak Therapeutics and the Western Regional Selection Committee for the Marshall Scholarship. He previously served on the board of directors of Turning Point Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TPTX), Bonti (acquired by Allergan), EnvisionRx (acquired by Rite Aid), RentPath, and the Packard Children’s Health Alliance at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford; and he was a board observer to Par Pharmaceutical (acquired by Endo), IMS Health and Quintiles Transnational.
Dr. Chacko concurrently received his MD with AOA honors from UCLA and his MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. He also received a MSc from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar and undergraduate degrees from the University of Southern California, where he graduated as the University Valedictorian.
Lori Friedman, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Lori Friedman, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Friedman brings to ORIC over 20 years of experience in cancer research, including expertise in cancer target discovery and validation, signal transduction, cancer genetics, drug discovery, pharmacology and biomarkers. During her 15-year career at Genentech, she held roles of increasing responsibility and was most recently head of translational oncology for Genentech Research and Early Development (gRED), where her team advanced more than 20 programs into clinical development. Dr. Friedman also sat on multiple cross-functional leadership teams tasked with strategic and technical review of Genentech’s oncology research pipeline projects.
Prior to Genentech, Dr. Friedman held various scientific leadership roles at Exelixis. She is an inventor on 24 issued patents and author on 90 peer-reviewed publications. She completed post-doctoral work at the University of Washington and at Cambridge University and earned a PhD in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley. She currently serves on the board of directors of Project Scientist, a non-profit organization serving girls in STEM.
Pratik Multani, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Pratik Multani, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Multani brings to ORIC more than 20 years of experience in oncology drug development and treatment of patients with cancer. Most recently, Dr. Multani served as Chief Medical Officer of Ignyta, which was acquired by Roche, where he led all development and regulatory activities related to multiple clinical stage assets, including Ignyta’s lead program entrectinib, which is currently approved in the United States and Japan.
Prior to Ignyta, Dr. Multani was Chief Medical Officer of Fate Therapeutics, and prior to that he held multiple leadership positions at Kalypsys, Kanisa and Salmedix. Dr. Multani started his biotech career at Biogen Idec, where he was involved with the development of both Zevalin® and Rituxan® for treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Prior to his career in biotech, Dr. Multani held academic and clinical positions at Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts General Hospital. His postdoctoral training included a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Dana-Farber/Partners and an internship and residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Multani received an MD from Harvard Medical School and an MS in clinical epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health. He currently serves on the board of directors of Erasca and Chimerix (NASDAQ: CMRX).
Matthew Panuwat
Chief Business Officer
Matthew Panuwat
Chief Business Officer
Prior to joining ORIC, Mr. Panuwat was Senior Vice President of Business Development at Prothena, where he led partnership activities and established the company’s global research & development collaboration with Celgene. Prior to Prothena, he was Head of Business Development at Medivation, where he led M&A and licensing activities, including the acquisition of talazoparib from BioMarin, until Medivation’s acquisition by Pfizer. He was also previously in corporate development at Questcor until its merger with Mallinckrodt, and spent nearly a decade in the Global Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Merrill Lynch. He holds a BS in biology from Santa Clara University, an MS in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University and an MBA from UCLA.
Dominic Piscitelli
Chief Financial Officer
Dominic Piscitelli
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Piscitelli brings to ORIC 20 years of industry experience, including debt and equity financings, in-licensing transactions, acquisitions, marketing partnerships and commercial product launches (XTANDI® and Tarceva®). Prior to joining ORIC, Mr. Piscitelli was CFO of AnaptysBio, a NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company, where he helped raise over $500 million in an IPO and follow-on financings. Prior to AnaptysBio, Mr. Piscitelli was Vice President of Finance, Strategy and Investor Relations at Medivation and played a key role in its acquisition by Pfizer. Previously, he served as Senior Director of Collaborations and Operations Finance at Astellas Pharma. Prior to that, Mr. Piscitelli served in various roles of increasing responsibility culminating as the Vice President, Treasury & Management Finance at OSI Pharmaceuticals, and played a significant role in their acquisition by Astellas. Mr. Piscitelli began his career with KPMG and is a certified public accountant. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA from Hofstra University.
Christian V. Kuhlen, MD, JD
General Counsel
Christian V. Kuhlen, MD, JD
General Counsel
Dr. Kuhlen has extensive depth and breadth of expertise as General Counsel for biotechnology companies, where he has been responsible for legal, SEC, human resources, intellectual property, and corporate governance functions. Dr. Kuhlen was most recently General Counsel and Secretary at Synthorx, Inc., where he led the legal aspects of its $150 million initial public offering and advised on the company’s subsequent $2.5 billion acquisition by Sanofi. Prior to Synthorx, Dr. Kuhlen was General Counsel at Ignyta, Inc., where he coordinated two public financings and advised on the company’s $1.7 billion acquisition by Roche. Before Ignyta, Dr. Kuhlen served as General Counsel of Genoptix, Inc., where he led the legal function from its initial public offering to its successful acquisition by Novartis. Prior to Genoptix, he was an attorney in private practice with Cooley LLP. Dr. Kuhlen holds a B.S. in biochemistry and cell biology and a B.A. in economics from the University of California, San Diego, and a M.D. and J.D. from the University of Southern California.
Edna Chow Maneval, PhD
Senior Vice President, Clinical Development
Edna Chow Maneval, PhD
Senior Vice President, Clinical Development
Dr. Chow Maneval brings to ORIC 20 years of clinical development experience in oncology. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Ignyta (acquired by Roche in 2018), where she was the clinical lead for entrectinib, a molecularly-targeted therapy for rare cancers affecting adults and pediatric patients. Prior to Ignyta, she was Vice President of Clinical Development at Aragon (acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2013) and Seragon (acquired by Genentech in 2014), responsible for the apalutamide (ERLEADA™) and SERD clinical programs in prostate and breast cancers, respectively. Dr. Chow Maneval’s career in drug development started at Pfizer where she held positions of increasing responsibility within the oncology group, mostly dedicated to the development and approval of sunitinib (SUTENT®). Dr. Chow Maneval was previously a YWCA TWIN (Tribute to Women & Industry) Honoree. She holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Southern California.
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Board of Directors
Our board has decades of experience founding and building leading oncology companies.
Richard Heyman, PhD
Chairman, Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Richard Heyman, PhD
Chairman, Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Heyman has over 25 years of biopharma experience. Previously, he was the co-founder and CEO of Aragon and Seragon Pharmaceuticals, two San Diego biotech companies focused on discovering and developing therapeutics targeting hormone-dependent cancers. Johnson & Johnson purchased Aragon in 2013 and Genentech/Roche purchased Seragon in 2014.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Heyman was co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of X-Ceptor Therapeutics, and also served as Vice President of Research at Ligand Pharmaceuticals. He has been involved in the discovery and development of multiple therapeutic agents approved by the FDA, including the recently approved drug, Erleada®, that was demonstrated to increase progression-free survival for prostate cancer patients. He is the author or inventor on more than 120 publications and patents. In addition to serving on the board of directors for ORIC, Dr. Heyman also serves on the board of directors for Gritstone Oncology, Yumanity Therapeutics, Metacrine, Vividion Therapeutics and Mavu Pharma. He is also the Vice Chairman of The Salk Institute. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute, and received a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Minnesota and a BS in chemistry from the University of Connecticut.
Mardi C. Dier
Board Member
EVP and CFO of Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals
Mardi C. Dier
Board Member
Ms. Dier currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, effective November 2020. She previously served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. through the acquisition by Alexion Pharmaceuticals in July 2020. Ms. Dier was responsible for leading the corporate finance, accounting, information technology, global supply chain, business development, investor relations and corporate communications functions. During her tenure at Portola, she successfully led a series of private, public and alternative financings and helped lead the company through its pivotal transition into a commercial organization.
Previously, she served as Vice President of Investor Relations at Chiron Corporation from 2003 until its acquisition by Novartis Pharmaceuticals in 2006. Prior to joining Chiron, she worked as an investment banker at Prudential Securities, where she focused on client development, equity underwriting and mergers and acquisitions for biotechnology and other life sciences companies, and prior to that was in the audit department of KPMG Peat Marwick. She holds a BS in biology from Stanford University and an MBA from the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles. Ms. Dier is a member of the board of directors of Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on chronic neurological diseases.
Steve L. Hoerter
Board Member
President and CEO of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals
Steve L. Hoerter
Board Member
Mr. Hoerter currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, a position he has held since March 2018. Prior to joining Deciphera, Mr. Hoerter served as the Chief Commercial Officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals from 2016 to 2019. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Hoerter served as Senior Vice President, Commercial and from 2015 to 2016, as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Clovis Oncology.
Previously, he was General Manager and Management Center Head at Roche Group for the Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Region. From 2005 to 2010, Mr. Hoerter held a variety of positions at Genentech, including serving on the senior leadership team for Genentech's bio-oncology business. Prior to joining Genentech, Mr. Hoerter held commercial roles at Chiron Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company in the United States, Europe and Africa. Mr. Hoerter has served on the board of directors of Deciphera since May 2018 and previously served on the board of directors of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, from September 2018 through its acquisition by MorphoSys AG in July 2021, and Ignyta from December 2016 through its acquisition by Roche Holding AG in February 2018.
Lori Kunkel, MD
Board Member
Lori Kunkel, MD
Board Member
Dr. Kunkel currently serves on the board of directors of Nurix Therapeutics, Maverick Therapeutics and Curis, and has served on the board of directors of Loxo Oncology, Amphivena, Harpoon Therapeutics and Tocagen. Previously, she served as acting Chief Medical Officer at Loxo Oncology, as Chief Medical Officer at Pharmacyclics and Proteolix, and in various senior clinical roles at Baxter Healthcare, Chiron, and Genentech. Prior to joining the biotechnology industry in 1995, Dr. Kunkel spent ten years in academic medicine and served as a faculty member at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Kunkel received her medical degree from University of Southern California and her bachelor’s degree in biology from University of California, San Diego. She is board certified in internal medicine and held board certifications in hematology and oncology.
Angie You, PhD
Board Member
CEO of Amunix Pharmaceuticals
Angie You, PhD
Board Member
Dr. You currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Amunix Pharmaceuticals, a position she has held since December 2018. Prior to joining Amunix, Dr. You served as Chief Business & Strategy Officer and Head of Commercial at Sierra Oncology from 2014 to 2018, where she helped the company through a successful initial public offering and led the company’s strategic and transactional business and commercial efforts. Prior to Sierra Oncology, Dr. You served as Chief Business Officer of Aragon Pharmaceuticals from 2010 through its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2013.
In previous roles, Dr. You served as Chief Business Officer at Synosia Therapeutics and Ren Pharmaceuticals. Before joining Ren Pharmaceuticals, Dr. You focused on new company formation at Venrock Ventures. Dr. You earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University and a B.A. in Chemistry from Harvard College.
Jacob Chacko, MD
Board Member
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jacob Chacko, MD
Board Member
Dr. Chacko was most recently CFO of Ignyta, a NASDAQ-listed precision oncology company acquired by Roche in February 2018. At Ignyta, he had a broad operational role and helped raise over $500 million in capital. During his tenure, the company grew from fewer than 20 employees and a $50 million enterprise value to 125 employees and a $1.7 billion enterprise value at the time of acquisition. Prior to Ignyta, Dr. Chacko was an investor at TPG Capital, where he helped lead teams that completed acquisitions having an aggregate value of over $10 billion. He has served on the board of directors of Turning Point Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TPTX), Bonti, RentPath and EnvisionRx and was a board observer to Par Pharmaceutical, IMS Health and Quintiles Transnational. He previously served on the board of the Packard Children’s Health Alliance at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.
Dr. Chacko concurrently received his MD with AOA honors from UCLA and his MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. Prior to that, he was a consultant serving healthcare clients at McKinsey & Company. He received a MSc from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar and undergraduate degrees from the University of Southern California, where he graduated as the University Valedictorian. Dr. Chacko currently serves on the board of directors of 4D Molecular Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FDMT), and he chairs the board of directors of Bright Peak Therapeutics and the Western Regional Selection Committee for the Marshall Scholarship.
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Founders
Charles Sawyers, MD
Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Professor, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Charles Sawyers, MD
Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Sawyers is a physician-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has led the discovery and development of multiple cancer therapies, including imatinib (Gleevec®), dasatinib (Sprycel®), enzalutamide (Xtandi®) and the recently approved prostate cancer drug apalutamide (Erleada®). Dr. Sawyers is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, past President of the American Association for Cancer Research and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. For his work at Memorial Sloan Kettering and nearly two decades at UCLA advancing molecularly targeted therapies, he has received numerous honors and awards. These include the Landon-AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Karnofsky Memorial Award and the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. Dr. Sawyers received his MD degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and his BA from Princeton University.
Scott Lowe, PhD
Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Professor, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Scott Lowe, PhD
Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Lowe serves as the Chair of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Chair of the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center and an Investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Lowe’s research has made important contributions to our understanding of the p53 tumor suppressor network, as well as the processes of multi-step carcinogenesis, cellular senescence and tumor-cell drug resistance. Dr. Lowe’s work has been recognized by the Sydney Kimmel Foundation Scholar Award, a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award, the AACR Outstanding Investigator Award and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, among others. He has been inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Previously, Dr. Lowe was a member of the faculty at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Dr. Lowe received his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his BS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Richard Heyman, PhD
Chairman, Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Richard Heyman, PhD
Chairman, Founder,
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Heyman has over 25 years of biopharma experience. Previously, he was the co-founder and CEO of Aragon and Seragon Pharmaceuticals, two San Diego biotech companies focused on discovering and developing therapeutics targeting hormone-dependent cancers. Johnson & Johnson purchased Aragon in 2013 and Genentech/Roche purchased Seragon in 2014.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Heyman was co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of X-Ceptor Therapeutics and also served as Vice President of Research at Ligand Pharmaceuticals. He has been involved in the discovery and development of multiple therapeutic agents approved by the FDA, including the recently approved drug, Erleada®, that was demonstrated to increase progression-free survival for prostate cancer patients. He is the author or inventor on more than 120 publications and patents. In addition to serving on the board of directors for ORIC, Dr. Heyman also serves on the board of directors for Gritstone Oncology, Yumanity Therapeutics, Metacrine Inc, Vividion Therapeutics and Mavu Pharma. He is also the Vice Chairman of The Salk Institute. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute, and received a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Minnesota and a BS in chemistry from the University of Connecticut.
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