Business
X4 Pharmaceuticals Appoints Art Taveras, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: XFOR), a leader in the discovery and development of novel therapies
About this update from X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: XFOR), a leader in the discovery and development of novel therapies targeting diseases resulting from dysfunction of the CXCR4 pathway, today announced the appointment of Art Taveras, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Taveras will lead all research and non-clinical development functions supporting the company’s pipeline of investigational therapies.\n “We are very excited to welcome Dr. Taveras as our Chief Scientific Officer. He has a proven track record in small molecule drug discovery and development and his significant expertise in chemokine-related chemistries will not only support our current clinical programs for our lead product candidate, mavorixafor, but also contribute to the enhancement of our pre-clinical pipeline of chemokine receptor CXCR4 antagonists for the treatment of a number of rare genetic diseases,” said Paula Ragan, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of X4 Pharmaceuticals. “Moreover, Dr. Taveras’ extensive scientific leadership experience will add great value as we continue to grow the company, broaden our pipeline and advance our ongoing clinical trials.” Dr. Taveras added, “I couldn’t be more pleased to join X4 at this exciting time for the company, as it continues to progress its global Phase 3 trial for WHIM syndrome and its two Phase 1b trials in Waldenström macroglobulinemia and severe congenital neutropenia, respectively. I look forward to leveraging my expertise and experience in the discovery and development of small molecules, and management of R&D teams globally, to further advance X4’s mission to develop therapeutics that can change the lives of patients with rare genetic diseases.” Dr. Taveras brings more than 30 years of experience leading small molecule research and development programs focused on the treatment of cancer, dysregulated immune disorders, neurodegeneration and metabolic diseases. His research and leadership have led to the development of multiple clinical candidates and dozens of clinical trials. He joins X4 from CoMET Therapeutics, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer. Previously, he was the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Transform Therapeutics, a company aiming to discover CXCR2 antagonists for the treatment of cancer, and served as President and Chief Scient...