Oncternal Therapeutics Announces its Prostate Cancer Scientific Advisory Board

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONCT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel oncology therapies, today announced the establishment of its Prostate Cancer Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The Prostate Cancer SAB is comprised of distinguished academic and industry leaders in the prostate cancer field, which will advise Oncternal as it develops its novel dual-acting androgen receptor inhibitor (DAARI), ONCT-534.

“We are truly honored to introduce our prostate cancer scientific advisory board, comprised of world-renown leaders with deep expertise in all key areas of research and clinical development to support the development of ONCT-534, our dual-acting androgen receptor inhibitor,” said James Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D., Oncternal’s President and CEO. “We look forward to working together with our SAB to advance to market our novel therapeutic alternative for patients with advanced prostate cancer who have relapsed or are refractory to currently approved androgen receptor signaling inhibitors, one of the most critical unmet needs in advanced prostate cancer.”

The members of the Oncternal Prostate Cancer SAB include:

Johann de Bono, M.D., Ph.D. is Regius Professor of Cancer Research, and Professor in Experimental Cancer Medicine at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Director of the joint Drug Development Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London. Dr. de Bono is a world leader in prostate cancer research, leading advancements in the treatment of prostate cancer through trials of abiraterone, cabazitaxel, and enzalutamide. He has also led the clinical development of multiple PARP inhibitors, including talazoparib, niraparib and olaparib. He also led on the identification of germline and somatic DNA repair defects in lethal prostate cancer. Dr. de Bono earned his M.D. and Ph.D. from Glasgow University, and he is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a Member of the Malta Order of Merit and received the prestigious ESMO Award in 2012.

Evan Yu, M.D. is Professor and Section Head of Medical Oncology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Yu treats prostate, bladder, and testicular cancer patients. He is also the Medical Director of Clinical Research Support for the Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium. As a clinician-scientist, he provides a personalized-medicine approach to test novel therapies and discover unique prostate cancer biomarkers. Dr. Yu earned his M.D. at the University of Washington School of Medicine, did his Internal Medicine residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and was a fellow in Hematology and Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.