IGM Biosciences Appoints Lisa Decker, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

IGM Biosciences has appointed Lisa L. Decker, Ph.D. as Chief Business Officer, a role aimed at expanding its business development efforts. Ms. Decker brings over 20 years of experience in the life sciences sector, previously leading business strategy at Atreca. The company's CEO highlighted her track record in forming partnerships and executing business strategies, crucial for advancing IGM’s innovative IgM technology platform. This move is expected to enhance IGM's focus on oncology, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases.

Positive

• Appointment of Lisa Decker expected to enhance business development efforts.
• Decker's extensive experience in life sciences may drive strategic partnerships.

Negative

• Uncertainties regarding IGM’s ability to successfully advance its product candidates.
• Risks related to clinical trial results potentially differing from expectations.

– Ms. Decker Brings 20 Years of Development Experience in the Life Sciences Industry –

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IGM Biosciences, Inc. (IGM), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on creating and developing engineered IgM antibodies, today announced the appointment of Lisa L. Decker, Ph.D., to the newly created position of Chief Business Officer. Ms. Decker joins IGM with twenty years of experience in business development strategy, transactions and alliance management. Most recently, Ms. Decker was Chief Business Officer at Atreca, Inc., where she led business development, including the portfolio and alliance management functions.

“We are very pleased to have Lisa join our team to lead our business development efforts, which are growing quickly as we validate our platform and advance our pipeline,” said Fred Schwarzer, Chief Executive Officer of IGM Biosciences. “Lisa brings a wealth of life sciences business development experience. She has an excellent track record of identifying potential partners, growing relationships and developing and implementing successful business development strategies. She will be critical to executing on our vision of broadly developing the IGM technology to bring new treatments to patients in the fields of oncology, infectious disease and autoimmune disease.”

“IGM’s opportunity to pioneer the development of an entire class of antibodies as therapeutic treatments for human diseases is very exciting,” added Ms. Decker. “The remarkable scope of this opportunity and the commitment and vision of the team drew me, and I am excited to become part of the company that is leading the exploration of the inherent advantages of IgM antibodies.”

Prior to her role at Atreca, Ms. Decker served in multiple roles at Nektar Therapeutics, from her initial role as a Senior Director, Alliance Management/Business Development in 2008 to her final role in 2019, serving as Vice President, Business Development, where she led all partnering activities including strategy, identifying and assessing new opportunities and developing deal structures and financial terms. Before that, she served as Associate Director in the Office of Technology Management at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she was responsible for licensing, intellectual property strategy and management and marketing of early stage life science inventions, including the university’s Nobel Prize winning RNAi technology. Ms. Decker received her Ph.D. in Immunology from Tufts University School of Medicine and her B.A. in Biology from the College of the Holy Cross.

About IGM Biosciences, Inc.
Headquartered in Mountain View, California, IGM Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on creating and developing engineered IgM antibodies. Since 2010, IGM Biosciences has worked to overcome the manufacturing and protein engineering hurdles that have limited the therapeutic use of IgM antibodies. Through its efforts, IGM Biosciences has created a proprietary IgM technology platform for the development of IgM antibodies for those clinical indications where their inherent properties may provide advantages as compared to IgG antibodies.

IGM Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to IGM’s plans, expectations and forecasts and to future events. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the potential of, and expectations regarding IGM’s technology platform and product candidates, the potential safety and efficacy of its product candidates, and statements by Mr. Schwarzer and Ms. Decker. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially, including but not limited to: IGM’s ability to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its product candidates; IGM’s ability to successfully and timely advance its product candidates through preclinical studies and clinical trials; IGM’s ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials; the potential for the results of clinical trials to differ from preclinical or expected results; the risk of significant adverse events, toxicities or other undesirable side effects; IGM’s ability to successfully manufacture and supply its product candidates for clinical trials; the risk that all necessary regulatory approvals cannot be obtained or that any approved products may not achieve broad market acceptance; potential delays and disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and governmental responses to the pandemic, including any future impacts to IGM’s operations, the manufacturing of its product candidates, the progression of its clinical trials, enrollment in its current and future clinical trials and on its collaborations and related efforts; IGM’s early stages of clinical drug development; risks related to the use of engineered IgM antibodies, which is a novel and unproven therapeutic approach; IGM’s ability to obtain additional capital to finance its operations, if needed; uncertainties related to the projections of the size of patient populations suffering from the diseases IGM is targeting; IGM’s ability to obtain, maintain and protect its intellectual property rights; developments relating to IGM’s competitors and its industry, including competing product candidates and therapies; risks related to collaborations with third parties, including the risk of the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of any such collaboration; general economic and market conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in IGM’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including IGM’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 26, 2020, IGM’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 5, 2020, IGM’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 7, 2020 and in IGM’s future reports to be filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and IGM specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Contact:

Argot Partners
David Pitts
212-600-1902
igmbio@argotpartners.com

FAQ

Who is Lisa L. Decker and what is her role at IGMS?

Lisa L. Decker is the newly appointed Chief Business Officer at IGMS, bringing 20 years of development experience in the life sciences.

What does Lisa Decker's appointment mean for IGMS's future?

Her appointment is aimed at strengthening business development and advancing IGMS's innovative IgM technology platform.

What experience does Lisa Decker have prior to joining IGMS?

Lisa Decker was Chief Business Officer at Atreca, where she led business development and alliance management.