Business
Kura Oncology Announces Senior Executive Promotions
– Mollie Leoni, M.D. promoted to Chief Medical Officer – – Francis Burrows, Ph.D. promoted to Chief Scientific Officer – – Stephen Dale, M.D., steps down as
About this update from Kura Oncology, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"– Mollie Leoni, M.D. promoted to Chief Medical Officer – – Francis Burrows, Ph.D. promoted to Chief Scientific Officer – – Stephen Dale, M.D., steps down as CMO and Head of R&D to prioritize personal health – SAN DIEGO, Jan. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, today announced that Mollie Leoni, M.D., has been promoted to Chief Medical Officer after serving as Executive Vice President of Clinical Development and clinical lead for the Company’s ziftomenib program since 2020. In addition, Francis Burrows, Ph.D., has been promoted to Chief Scientific Officer after leading the Company’s translational research efforts for the past nine years. Stephen Dale, M.D., has stepped down as Chief Medical Officer, effective as of January 2, 2025, to focus on recovery from personal health challenges. “Stephen has been a key contributor to our development programs over the past several years,” said Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., President and CEO of Kura Oncology. “Under his leadership, we successfully navigated Project Optimus, advanced ziftomenib through a first registration-enabling study and laid the foundation for KO-2806 as a promising combination partner across multiple solid tumor indications. On behalf of our team at Kura, we thank Stephen for his invaluable contributions to our team, culture and programs and wish him well as he prioritizes his health.” “We are very fortunate to have such exceptional leaders ready to lead our research and development organization,” Dr. Wilson continued. “Mollie’s proven leadership and expertise have positioned ziftomenib as a potentially transformational therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Additionally, Francis has been instrumental in driving our pipeline innovation, with programs addressing gastrointestinal stromal tumors, diabetes, clear cell renal cell carcinoma and KRAS-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. I look forward to working closely with Mollie and Francis as we continue to advance our mission and maximize the value of all our programs.” Dr. Leoni joined Kura in February 2020 as Vice President of Clinical Development and was promoted to Executive Vice President of Clinical Development in July 2023. With a robust background...