CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MAIA Biotechnology, Inc., a targeted therapy, immuno-oncology company focused on developing first-in-class oncology drugs, today announced that it has appointed Mihail Obrocea, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Development, and Charlotte Tsou as an independent member of its board of directors.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Mihail and Charlotte to the MAIA team, who bring significant clinical development, financial and leadership expertise that will be important as we advance our cancer pipeline to patients,” stated Vlad Vitoc, MD, MAIA’s Chief Executive Officer and President. “Mihail is a distinguished physician scientist and accomplished drug developer who has brought numerous oncology drugs to patients in need. Charlotte is an outstanding business leader who will provide a global perspective to our growth strategies. Both Mihail and Charlotte bring diverse expertise to MAIA and we are eager to benefit from their insights and guidance as we continue to build a world-class biotechnology company.”
New Appointment Biographies:
Mihail Obrocea, M.D. is a hematologist/oncologist with over 20 years of experience in drug development in both academia and pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry with expertise in the development of cell therapy, cancer vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and small molecules. Dr. Obrocea has played an instrumental role in the development and commercialization of numerous drugs, including IMBRUVICA®, BESPONSA®, and BREYANZI®. Prior to joining MAIA, he served as Project and Clinical Lead at Atara Biotherapeutics where he supported the clinical development of the Atara’s allogeneic CAR-T platform. He has held multiple senior level positions over the last two decades including leading the Medical Affairs Oncology group at MedImmune, serving as VP, Clinical Development Oncology at MannKind Corp., Global Project Lead for AbbVie Biotherapeutics, Head, Medical Sciences at Pharmacyclics, VP of Clinical and Medical Affairs at SFJ Pharmaceutical Group, US Clinical Lead at Nanobiotix Corp, and clinical Program Lead at Juno Therapeutics Inc. Dr. Obrocea’s research has been published in major oncology peer-reviewed journals, he has co-authored books related to cancer vaccines and immunology, and holds several patents in the biotechnology field.
Dr. Obrocea received his M.D. from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania and completed an internship and residency program in Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven affiliated hospitals in Connecticut followed by a fellowship program in hematology/oncology and later appointed as Instructor of Medicine, division of Hematology & Oncology at Mary Hitchcock Medical Center and Geisel Medical School at Dartmouth in New Hampshire.
Charlotte Tsou is a global business leader with several decades of multi-national experience holding leadership positions in the U.S., Asia, and Latin America in the Banking & Financial Service sector. Currently, Ms. Tsou is Head of Marketing Analytics and Insights, overseeing business solutions, consumer research, and experiments driven by AI at Prudential Financial. Prior to joining Prudential Financial, Charlotte spent 17 years with HSBC, held multiple leadership roles in Strategic Planning, Partnerships, Digital & CRM Transformation, and built one of the largest AI-driven Data & Analytics centers in banking.
Ms. Tsou earned a B.A (Hons). in Media Communication from NYU & Shin Hsin University and an M.A. in Integrated Marketing Communication (Specialized in Digital & Database Marketing) from Northwestern University. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate with the SBS Swiss Business School.
About MAIA Biotechnology, Inc.
MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. is a targeted therapy, immuno-oncology company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class drugs with novel mechanisms of action that are intended to meaningfully improve and extend the lives of people with cancer. Drug candidates include (i) THIO, a potential first-in-class cancer telomere targeting agent in clinical development for the treatment of telomerase-positive cancer cells and (ii) two compound families in pre-clinical evaluation for the treatment of prostate cancer and breast cancer using a potentially novel mode of action targeting androgen receptor (AR) and direct FKBP52 co-chaperone inhibition. For more information, please visit www.maiabiotech.com.
Forward Looking Statements
MAIA cautions that all statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels or activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. The use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that statements are not forward-looking. For example, all statements we make regarding (i) the initiation, timing, cost, progress and results of our preclinical and clinical studies and our research and development programs, (ii) our ability to advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical studies, (iii) the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, (iv) our ability to develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates and to improve the manufacturing process, (v) the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, (vi) the size and growth potential of the markets for our product candidates and our ability to serve those markets, and (vii) our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates, are forward looking. All forward-looking statements are based on current estimates, assumptions and expectations by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Any forward-looking statement expressing an expectation or belief as to future events is expressed in good faith and believed to be reasonable at the time such forward-looking statement is made. However, these statements are not guarantees of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors beyond our control that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In this release, unless the context requires otherwise, “MAIA,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refers to MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Contacts
Investor Relations, Media & General Inquiries:
Amy Conrad
ir@maiabiotech.com