CytomX Therapeutics Appoints Yu-Waye (Wayne) Chu, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTMX), a leader in the field of conditionally activated, localized biologics, today announced the appointment of Yu-Waye (Wayne) Chu, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). In this role, Dr. Chu will oversee clinical development of the Company’s diversified portfolio of Probody therapeutic candidates.

“Wayne brings to CytomX substantial experience in clinical development strategy in the oncology space,” said Sean McCarthy, D.Phil., chief executive officer and chairman of CytomX Therapeutics. “His drug development experiences have contributed to multiple approvals and span therapeutic modalities including antibody drug conjugates, checkpoint inhibitors, and bispecific immunotherapies, making him an ideal fit to lead the development of CytomX’s robust and differentiated pipeline. Wayne joins CytomX at a moment where we are expecting to make significant clinical progress with our next generation pipeline including the continued advancement of CX-904 through Phase 1, the initial clinical strategies for our new INDs, CX-2051 and CX-801, and our ongoing efforts aimed at targeting CD71.”

“I am very pleased to be joining CytomX at a time when the pipeline is positioned to make important clinical progress across multiple programs. The Probody Platform and CytomX’s leadership in localized biologics has resulted in a compelling pipeline of drug candidates and a meaningful opportunity to create near- and long-term value for patients,” said Dr. Chu. “I look forward to working with the team on our shared goal of bringing new and differentiated treatments to people with cancer and advancing our leadership in the field of biologics localization.”

Dr. Chu joins CytomX with over 20 years of experience in oncology, in roles ranging from research to medicine to global clinical development. He was previously Chief Medical Officer at Fate Therapeutics, where he oversaw the company’s clinical development strategies of novel immune cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. Prior to joining Fate, Wayne spent a decade at Genentech, where he assumed positions of increasing responsibility in Product Development Oncology in the development of the HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla). He then joined the Early Clinical Development group in Genentech Research and Early Development in 2011 where he led the early clinical development of molecules covering multiple therapeutic platforms including antibody drug conjugates, checkpoint inhibitors, and immune cell bispecific antibodies, notably the development of polatuzumab vedotin (anti-CD79b antibody drug conjugate), tiragolumab (anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody) and mosunetuzumab (CD20/CD3 bispecific antibody), and continued to lead the global development of mosunetuzumab in his role in Product Development Oncology at Roche/Genentech. Prior to his clinical development experience, Dr. Chu conducted his clinical training in pediatric hematology-oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and earned his M.D. with Distinction in Research from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.