Verastem focused on discovering and developing drugs to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients, today announced the appointment of Eric K. Rowinsky, MD to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Rowinsky brings to Verastem nearly 30 years of experience in the development of cancer treatments, such as cetuximab (Erbitux) when he was Chief Medical Officer of ImClone Systems, as well as ramucirumab, necitumumab, paclitaxel, docetaxel, topotecan, erlotinib, irinotecan, lapatinib, and cixutumumab, among others. Dr. Rowinsky currently serves on the Board of Directors for several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies including Biogen, Inc. Dr. Rowinsky is replacing Dr. Paul Friedman who is transitioning from his role as Director to become a member of Verastem’s Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board (CSAB).
“Eric is a highly accomplished biopharmaceutical business leader with deep product development experience across both clinical-stage and large, established oncology organizations,” said Michael Kauffman, MD, PhD, Verastem’s Lead Director. “We expect Eric to add great value to Verastem as we advance both duvelisib and defactinib toward their planned clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. We welcome his insights particularly as we advance duvelisib towards a potential NDA filing. Paul has been an integral part of Verastem’s Board since 2014, and we are extremely thankful for the contributions he has made. We look forward to continuing to work with him as he transitions to our CSAB.”
“Verastem has the potential to become a commercial-stage company with a promising treatment for patients with lymphoid malignancies,” said Dr. Rowinsky. “I am delighted to join the Board of Directors during this important transition and I look forward to working with the entire leadership team to contribute to Verastem’s future growth and success.”
Dr. Rowinsky currently serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of Oncology at ClearPath Development Company, a biotechnology company that partners with leading biopharmaceutical companies to expand early product pipeline opportunities. He is also the Executive Director and President at Rgenix, Inc., a privately-held oncology company, and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at New York University. Dr. Rowinsky served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Stemline, Inc., a publicly-held oncology company, from 2012 to 2015, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of ImClone Systems, Inc., from 2004 to 2010, during which time it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company. Dr. Rowinsky has held several positions, including Director, at the Institute for Drug Development in San Antonio, Texas, an affiliate of the University of Texas Health Science Center where he was an Adjunct Professor of Medicine, and Associate Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Rowinsky completed his undergraduate training at New York University, received his MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed his residency training in internal medicine at the University of California, San Diego and fellowship training in medical oncology and drug development from Johns Hopkins University.