Blueprint Medicines Announces R&D Leadership Transitions
Blueprint Medicines Corporation (NASDAQ: BPMC) has announced leadership changes in its R&D organization effective January 11, 2021. Dr. Becker Hewes succeeds Dr. Andy Boral as Chief Medical Officer, while Dr. Boral transitions to Executive Vice President, Clinical Development. Dr. Hewes has 20 years of experience in oncology and will oversee various clinical aspects. Additionally, Dr. Marion Dorsch will resign as Chief Scientific Officer effective March 1, 2021. The company looks to enhance its focus on precision medicine and expand its R&D capabilities.
- Dr. Becker Hewes' appointment is expected to strengthen clinical development leadership.
- Dr. Hewes brings 20 years of experience in oncology and hematology, which may enhance development efficiency.
- Dr. Andy Boral's new role will focus on optimizing the company's portfolio and corporate strategy.
- Dr. Marion Dorsch's resignation may raise concerns about continuity in scientific leadership.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blueprint Medicines Corporation (NASDAQ: BPMC) today announced leadership transitions for the company's research and development organization. Effective as of January 11, 2021, Becker Hewes, M.D., currently Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, will succeed Andy Boral, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Boral will transition to a new role as Executive Vice President, Clinical Development. With his promotion, Dr. Hewes will be responsible for clinical development, clinical operations, pharmacovigilance, translational medicine and biostatistics. In his new role, Dr. Boral will advise on clinical development, regulatory and business development strategy across the company's portfolio. Drs. Hewes and Boral will report to Fouad Namouni, M.D., President, Research & Development.
"As our first Chief Medical Officer, Andy has been a key driver in establishing Blueprint Medicines as a leading precision therapy company by building a strong clinical organization and advancing our two lead programs into the clinic and through late-stage development, culminating in four approvals in 2020. In his new role focused on clinical and corporate strategy, Andy will support efforts to optimize our portfolio and bring additional therapies to patients," said Fouad Namouni, M.D., President, Research & Development at Blueprint Medicines. "Becker is an experienced development leader who will build on a strong foundation of clinical excellence. Since he joined the company last spring, Becker has already provided critical leadership to our clinical development programs, including our recent submission of a supplemental new drug application to the FDA for AYVAKIT™ (avapritinib) for the treatment of advanced systemic mastocytosis."
In addition, Marion Dorsch, Ph.D., has notified the company of her intention to resign as the company's Chief Scientific Officer to pursue other career opportunities. Her resignation will be effective March 1, 2021, and the company has initiated a search for her replacement.
Dr. Namouni added, "We're thankful for the major contributions Marion has made toward building our industry-leading precision therapy pipeline, including the advancement of two new molecular entities into clinical trials and the nomination of five development candidates under her leadership, and we wish her well in her future endeavors. As we move forward, we plan to deepen our focus on precision medicine, building on a decade of R&D innovation, by combining our highly productive scientific platform with an expanded R&D vision embracing new precision therapy modalities."
About Becker Hewes
Dr. Hewes brings 20 years of industry and clinical experience in oncology and hematology, including achieving the approval of three tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Previously, he served as Blueprint Medicines' Senior Vice President, Clinical Development from May 2020 to January 2021. Prior to joining Blueprint Medicines, Dr. Hewes served as Chief Medical Officer of Repertoire Immune Medicines (formerly Torque Therapeutics) from February 2017 to May 2020, where he built Repertoire's multidisciplinary clinical and biomarker team and advanced its lead immuno-oncology programs into clinical development. From June 2013 to February 2017, Dr. Hewes served as Executive Director of Translational Clinical Oncology at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research where he led clinical development and translational medicine efforts for multiple early-stage oncology programs through clinical proof-of-concept, including Kisqali® (ribociclib), a targeted therapy approved to treat breast cancer, and other programs combining novel therapies. Prior to that, he held roles of increasing responsibility related to clinical development in oncology and hematology within AstraZeneca PLC, Genzyme Corporation and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, including leading registration programs for Bosulif® (bosutinib) and Torisel® (temsirolimus) for chronic myelogenous leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma, respectively. Before joining industry, he conducted immuno-oncology research at the Emory Vaccine Center while treating patients as a pediatric oncologist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Dr. Hewes holds an M.D. from the Georgetown University School of Medicine and a B.S. from Vanderbilt University.
About Blueprint Medicines
Blueprint Medicines is a global precision therapy company that invents life-changing therapies for people with cancer and hematologic disorders. Applying an approach that is both precise and agile, we create medicines that selectively target genetic drivers, with the goal of staying one step ahead across stages of disease. Since 2011, we have leveraged our research platform, including expertise in molecular targeting and world-class drug design capabilities, to rapidly and reproducibly translate science into a broad pipeline of precision therapies. Today, we are delivering approved medicines directly to patients in the United States and Europe, and we are globally advancing multiple programs for genomically defined cancers, systemic mastocytosis, and cancer immunotherapy. For more information, visit www.BlueprintMedicines.com and follow us on Twitter (@BlueprintMeds) and LinkedIn.
Trademarks
Blueprint Medicines, AYVAKIT and associated logos are trademarks of Blueprint Medicines Corporation.
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SOURCE Blueprint Medicines Corporation
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