Arcus Biosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage, global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing differentiated molecules and combination therapies for people with cancer, announced that Richard Markus, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed chief medical officer (CMO) effective January 31, 2025. Dr. Markus replaces Dimitry Nuyten, M.D., Ph.D., who will be leaving the company at the end of January to pursue other opportunities. Dr. Markus’s responsibilities will include oversight of Arcus’s clinical development organization and its late-stage portfolio, currently including four ongoing registrational Phase 3 studies, the first of which, STAR-221, is expected to read out next year. Arcus plans to initiate a fifth registrational Phase 3 study, PEAK-1, in the first half of 2025, to evaluate its HIF-2a inhibitor casdatifan plus cabozantinib in people with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who have progressed on immunotherapy. Dr. Markus’s extensive late-stage development experience will be essential as he leads Arcus’s strategy and efforts to fully leverage the opportunities in Arcus’s portfolio.
“Dr. Markus is a biotechnology industry veteran who will advance our late-stage programs into commercialization. His decades and breadth of clinical development success will solidify Arcus’s emerging position as a leader in creating and developing a next generation of therapies in oncology,” said Terry Rosen, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Arcus. “Our development organization has seamlessly advanced our broad portfolio of investigational molecules to address multiple cancers with high unmet need, and we are thrilled that Dr. Markus will be leading our organization and creating the infrastructure and culture to reproducibly deliver innovative therapies. I would also like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Nuyten for building a world-class development organization and leading Arcus through a period of incredibly rapid growth with parallel creation of a late-stage portfolio.”
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“Arcus stands out as a mid-sized biotech company with its breadth and depth of oncology assets and entry into inflammation and immunology; it’s an exciting time to be joining the company,” said Richard Markus, M.D., Ph.D., incoming chief medical officer at Arcus Biosciences. “The company’s portfolio of molecules, most of which are being developed on top of the current standards of care, has the potential to change clinical practice with meaningful advancements for patients. I’m looking forward to working with the oncology community and our clinical and business partners to make this a reality.”
Dr. Markus established a unique track record of late-stage development experience during a 13-year tenure at Amgen in increasing roles of responsibility, including as vice president of global development. Dr. Markus oversaw the development and approval of multiple products and was also the first R&D head for the biosimilars division, leading the development of a 10-product pipeline across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology and rheumatology. Most recently, Dr. Markus founded Dantari, a clinical-stage oncology-focused antibody-drug conjugate company, where he served as president, CEO and member of the Board. Dr. Markus earned his medical degree and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Southern California, and then his surgery internship and residency in urology.
Source: Businesswire