Xilio Therapeutics Appoints Tomas J. Heyman to Board of Directors

Rhea-AI Summary

Xilio Therapeutics has appointed Tomas J. Heyman to its board of directors, enhancing the team with nearly 40 years of biopharmaceutical leadership experience. Heyman previously worked at Johnson & Johnson, overseeing substantial investments in over 120 companies. Additionally, John Maraganore, former CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, joins as a strategic advisor. These appointments aim to advance Xilio's tumor-selective immunotherapy programs, leveraging their expertise to drive value creation and innovation in cancer treatment.

Positive

• Appointment of Tomas J. Heyman brings extensive biopharmaceutical experience in corporate strategy and business development.
• John Maraganore's strategic advisory role may enhance Xilio's innovative pipeline with his industry expertise.
• The leadership changes are expected to strengthen Xilio's position in tumor-selective immunotherapies.

Negative

• None.

John Maraganore, Ph.D., former founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Joins as a Strategic Advisor

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: XLO), a biotechnology company developing tumor-selective immuno-oncology therapies for people living with cancer, today announced the appointment of Tomas J. Heyman to the company’s board of directors. Mr. Heyman is a biopharmaceutical veteran with nearly 40 years of leadership and management expertise in corporate strategy, business development and venture capital from his tenure with Johnson & Johnson (J&J). In addition, the company announced that John Maraganore, Ph.D., former founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, will serve as a strategic advisor to Xilio’s board of directors and its executive team.

“Tom brings extensive global leadership experience from his tenure at J&J and has a strong track record of driving value creation and business development. John is an industry pioneer who built Alnylam from an early research platform concept to a global therapeutics company with multiple novel medicines. The collective experience of Tom and John will be highly valuable as Xilio continues to advance its innovative scientific platform and promising pipeline of tumor-selective immunotherapy programs,” said Paul Clancy, chair of the board of directors of Xilio Therapeutics. “We are thrilled to welcome Tom to the Xilio board of directors and John as a strategic advisor to the company, and we look forward to working with each of them and benefiting from their extensive strategic knowledge and expertise.”

“Xilio is pioneering an innovative platform to develop tumor-selective immunotherapies that have the potential to achieve meaningful anti-tumor activity while minimizing serious, systemic effects,” said Mr. Heyman. “I look forward to partnering with Xilio’s high-caliber board and leadership team as it seeks to advance its pipeline of potentially transformative clinical and pre-clinical programs.”

“I have known Rene and the Xilio team for some time, and I have been impressed with their approach, which is intended to precisely deliver immunotherapies directly to the tumor microenvironment minimizing their systemic side effects and improving their potency,” said Dr. Maraganore. “I am excited to partner with the team as a strategic advisor to advance their novel platform and work to bring the next generation of immune-oncology therapies to patients.”

In addition, Xilio announced the appointment of Myles Clouston to the newly created position of vice president of investor relations, where he will lead the company’s investor relations strategy and engagement. Mr. Clouston brings more than 20 years of experience to this role, with a strong understanding of the life science sector from his time at MorphoSys and Mylan (now Viatris) and nearly a decade of global investor relations, corporate development, and capital markets experience from his roles at NASDAQ, J&J, and Thomson Financial Corporate Services.

Tomas J. Heyman
Mr. Tomas Heyman brings significant biopharmaceutical experience in corporate strategy, business development, venture capital, as well as R&D, legal and operational management experience. Mr. Heyman most recently served as president of JJDC, J&J’s corporate venture capital group, until September 2019, where he managed approximately $1.5 billion in capital and oversaw investments in more than 120 companies. Prior to leading JJDC, he led business development for J&J’s pharmaceutical group, Janssen, for over 20 years, completing hundreds of licensing and M&A transactions. He was also the managing director of Janssen Pharmaceutica, Belgium, J&J’s largest subsidiary outside the U.S., and vice president of licensing at Ortho Pharmaceutical, a J&J affiliate. Mr. Heyman currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Legend Biotech, Akero Therapeutics, OptiNose, and Adagio Therapeutics. Mr. Heyman received his Master of Law from K.U. Leuven in Belgium and completed post-graduate studies in international law in Geneva, Switzerland, and post-graduate studies in business management at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.  

John M. Maraganore, Ph.D.
Dr. John Maraganore served as the founding chief executive officer and a director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2021 and is a member of the Alnylam Scientific Advisory Board. During his tenure, he built and led the company from early platform research on RNA interference through global approval and commercialization of the first four RNAi therapeutics medicines, ONPATTRO^®, GIVLAARI^®, OXLUMO^®, and Leqvio^®. He also led Alnylam’s value creation strategy, building $25B in market capitalization and forming over 20 major pharmaceutical alliances. Previously, Dr. Maraganore held leadership and scientific roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Biogen, Zymogenetics, and The Upjohn Company. He is currently a venture partner at ARCH Venture Partners, a venture advisor at Atlas Ventures, an executive partner at RTW Investments, and senior advisor for Blackstone Life Sciences. He is chair of the board of directors of Hemab Therapeutics and the chairman and co-founder of Orbital Therapeutics. Dr. Maraganore also serves as a member of the board of directors of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Beam Therapeutics, Kymera Therapeutics, ProKidney, and the Biotechnology Industry Organization, where he was chair from 2017-2019 and serves as chair emeritus. In addition, he serves on the board of the Termeer Foundation, chair of the n-Lorem Foundation Advisory Council, and on the advisory board of Ariadne Labs. Dr. Maraganore received his M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago.

About Xilio Therapeutics
Xilio Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on harnessing the immune system to achieve deep and durable clinical responses to improve the lives of patients with cancer. The company is using its proprietary geographically precise solutions (GPS) platform to rapidly engineer novel molecules, including cytokines and other biologics, that are designed to optimize their therapeutic index. These molecules are designed to localize activity within the tumor microenvironment without systemic effects, resulting in the potential to achieve enhanced anti-tumor activity. Xilio is building a pipeline of wholly owned, tumor-selective, GPS-enabled cytokine and checkpoint inhibitor product candidates, including its clinical-stage programs, XTX101, a tumor-selective anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody, and XTX202, a tumor-selective IL-2, as well as its earlier pipeline, including XTX301, a tumor-selective IL-12. For more information, please visit www.xiliotx.com and follow us on Twitter (@xiliotx) and LinkedIn (Xilio Therapeutics, Inc.).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding plans, strategies, timelines and expectations for Xilio’s current or future product candidates; the potential benefits of any of Xilio’s current or future product candidates in treating patients; and Xilio’s strategy, goals and anticipated financial performance, milestones, business plans and focus. The words “aim,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “seek,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of important risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to ongoing and planned research and development activities, including initiating, conducting or completing preclinical studies and clinical trials and the timing and results of such preclinical studies or clinical trials; the delay of any current or planned preclinical studies or clinical trials or the development of Xilio’s current or future product candidates; Xilio’s ability to obtain and maintain sufficient preclinical and clinical supply of current or future product candidates; Xilio’s advancement of multiple early-stage programs; Xilio’s ability to successfully demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its product candidates and gain approval of its product candidates on a timely basis, if at all; results from preclinical studies or clinical trials for Xilio’s product candidates, which may not support further development of such product candidates; actions of regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation, timing and progress of current or future clinical trials; Xilio’s ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for current or future product candidates; Xilio’s ability to obtain and maintain sufficient cash resources to fund current or future operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements; the impact of international trade policies on Xilio’s business, including U.S. and China trade policies; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Xilio’s business, operations, strategy, goals and anticipated milestones. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail in the sections entitled “Risk Factor Summary” and “Risk Factors” in Xilio’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Xilio’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any other filings that Xilio has made or may make with the SEC in the future. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent Xilio’s views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Except as required by law, Xilio explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

This press release contains hyperlinks to information that is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in this press release.

For Investor Inquiries:
Myles Clouston
Vice President, Investor Relations
investors@xiliotx.com

For Media Inquiries: 
Julissa Viana
Vice President, Corporate Communications
media@xiliotx.com

FAQ

What recent leadership changes occurred at Xilio Therapeutics?

Xilio Therapeutics appointed Tomas J. Heyman to its board of directors and John Maraganore as a strategic advisor.

What is Tomas J. Heyman's background?

Tomas J. Heyman has nearly 40 years of experience in biopharmaceutical leadership, previously managing investments at Johnson & Johnson.

How might John Maraganore's appointment impact Xilio Therapeutics?

John Maraganore's experience in building Alnylam Pharmaceuticals could provide valuable insights to advance Xilio's tumor-selective immunotherapy programs.

What is the focus of Xilio Therapeutics?

Xilio Therapeutics focuses on developing tumor-selective immunotherapy therapies to improve cancer treatment outcomes.