Selvita appoints Steffen Heeger as Chief Medical Officer
Selvita S.A. (WSE:SLV), a clinical stage drug discovery and development company focused on innovative medicines for oncology patients and drug discovery services, announced the appointment of Steffen Heeger, M.D., PhD, to the role of Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Heeger will join Selvita in February and will be responsible for all clinical, medical affairs and regulatory functions for Selvita oncology pipeline including SEL24, the first-in-class dual PIM/FLT3 kinase inhibitor currently in Phase I/II studies in acute myeloid leukemia, SEL120, the first-in-class selective CDK8 kinase inhibitor, targeting hematological malignancies and solid tumors, currently in IND-enabling studies as well as new programs emerging from three Selvita’s discovery platforms – targeted therapeutics, cancer metabolism and immunometabolism, and immune-oncology.
Dr. Steffen Heeger is an oncologist with a thorough experience in oncology drug development. Prior to joining Selvita, Dr. Heeger held a position of Vice President, Head of Clinical Development and Head of Clinical Operations at Morphosys AG, where he focused on the development and execution of clinical strategy for Morphosys’ lead hematology and oncology products.
Dr. Heeger’s previous experience includes also a nine-year tenure at Merck Serono, where he was Head of Medical Affairs and led the Global Clinical Development Team for Erbitux.
Dr. Heeger studied Medicine in Freiburg, Heidelberg and Mannheim and continued his medical training at the Department of Hematology and Oncology of the University Hospital in Heidelberg. Simultaneously with his medical training as a Physician, he also held the position of a Scientist at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg where he worked on the development of antibody conjugates. He received a PhD in Medicine from the University of Heidelberg.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Steffen Heeger join the senior management team at Selvita. The wealth of experience he brings in to our company is invaluable, with his track record in clinical development of oncohematology drugs including biologics bringing to us great value added, especially considering our ambitious development strategy for 2017-2021.” – comments Pawel Przewiezlikowski, Chief Executive Officer at Selvita. “Dr. Heeger’s appointment will have a considerable impact on our clinical capabilities and strategy, as well as it underscores our strong commitment to the further development and expansion of our clinical portfolio, with SEL120 managed internally in collaboration with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and SEL24 developed with our partner Menarini Group, as two highly promising potential treatments for AML patients.”
Image Source: Selvita