Coulter Partners places industry veteran Dr. David Hung as Chair of T-Therapeutics

London, August 22, 2024 – Coulter Partners, the global expert building leadership teams for Health, Science and Technology innovation businesses, recently partnered with T-Therapeutics and is pleased to announce the placement of David Hung as Chair of its Board of Directors.

The biopharma industry veteran, founder of Medivation, and serial entrepreneur joins T-Therapeutics to support the development of the biotechnology company’s pipeline of next-generation soluble TCR therapeutics targeting cancer and autoimmune indications.

Dr. Hung is a successful serial entrepreneur in the oncology space. He founded Medivation in 2003 which was sold to Pfizer for $14.3 billion in 2016. At Medivation, Dr. Hung identified, in-licensed, and led bench-to-bedside development of enzalutamide (XTANDI®) for advanced prostate cancer, taking it from first in vitro laboratory experiment to FDA approval in seven years, one of the fastest development timelines in pharmaceutical history. XTANDI, approved in more than 60 countries is one of the top cancer drugs by revenue, reaching blockbuster drug status and exceeding $6 billion in global annual sales in 2023.

Prior to founding Medivation, Dr. Hung served as President and CEO of ProDuct Health, a venture-backed startup medical device company founded in 1998 that developed, manufactured and commercialized a breast microcatheter – invented by Dr. Hung – for breast cancer risk assessment. ProDuct Health was acquired in 2001 for $168 million by Cytyc Corporation.

Dr. Hung is currently President and CEO of Nuvation Bio, which he founded in 2018, a late-stage biopharma developing differentiated and novel therapeutic candidates to tackle some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology.

Dr. Hung received an A.B. summa cum laude in biology from Harvard College and an M.D. Alpha Omega Alpha from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. He completed simultaneous clinical fellowships in hematology, oncology and transfusion medicine as well as two basic science research fellowships in molecular biology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.

Professor Allan Bradley, CEO of T-Therapeutics, commented:

“Having followed David’s career for many years, I’m delighted that he is joining T-Therapeutics’ Board as Chair. David brings a wealth of scientific, clinical and company building experience to our Board. I look forward to drawing on his deep understanding of drug development in the oncology space, as well as his substantial experience in building biotechnology companies as we work to develop a pipeline of drugs designed to reshape the clinical landscape for cancer patients.”

Commenting on his experience working with Coulter Partners, he added: “The Coulter Partners team worked very hard to understand our business ambitions and expectations and then carefully orchestrated a highly complex process with multiple amazing candidates in the mix, that culminated in a successful appointment.”

Dr. David Hung, Chair of T-Therapeutics, also commented:

“I’m excited to work with Allan and his very experienced team to help realize their vision. T-Therapeutics has an unusually strong and unique scientific foundation that is being leveraged to build a pipeline of transformative medicines. The team have an excellent track record of successful development of drugs that leverage immune cell biology. I believe their unique TCR platform has the potential to deliver a pipeline of transformative medicines.”

In November 2023 T-Therapeutics announced a £48m series A fundraise for the development of next-generation TCR therapeutics to transform cancer treatment, led by Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime Capital, Digitalis Ventures and Cambridge Innovation Capital with participation from Sanofi Ventures and the University of Cambridge Venture Fund.

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Dr. David Hung, Chair

Dr. Hung is Founder and CEO of Nuvation Bio. He was raised by Chinese immigrant parents and translated a lifelong passion of science and medicine into 3 successful biotech cancer companies, two going public.

Dr. Hung received an AB summa cum laude from Harvard College and MD alpha omega alpha from the University of California San Francisco. He left an academic career as a basic science researcher and clinical oncologist when a patient of his died at the age of 28 from an aggressive form of breast cancer and he decided to develop better early diagnosis and treatment options for oncology patients such as she. His first startup, Pro Duct Health, developed an early breast cancer diagnosis technique similar in concept to a pap smear and was acquired by the world’s largest maker of Pap smears.

His second startup, Medivation, developed what is today the world’s largest prostate cancer drug, with over $6 billion in annual sales and having been used by more than 720,000 patients. Medivation was acquired by Pfizer. His third startup, Nuvation Bio, is developing next generation oncology drugs for a wide variety of particularly difficult-to-treat cancers and is on the verge of seeking FDA approval to launch a new drug for treating ROS1+ lung cancer.

A former professional violinist and pianist, Dr. Hung is passionate about music education for children and started the philanthropic Cremona Foundation, which provides funding for music programs in underprivileged communities as well as to gifted musicians embarking on a musical career.

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Notes to editors:

About T-Therapeutics

T-Therapeutics is a next-generation T cell receptor (TCR) company spun off from the University of Cambridge. The company was created to harness the power of T cell biology, evolved over millions of years, to create safe and effective treatments for many cancers and autoimmune diseases. T-Therapeutics combines world-leading expertise in mouse genome engineering, deep knowledge and experience in biopharmaceutical drug development, single cell genomics, machine-learning and structural biology, anchored in a culture of creativity and collaboration. T-Therapeutics is developing ‘optimal’ TCR based therapeutics using a proprietary OpTiMus® platform, based on a fully humanized TCR mouse that provides an almost unlimited source of unique, antigen-specific human TCRs. These TCRs are directed at multiple target classes, many of which have never been worked on before. The company is developing a pipeline of first-in-class drugs that are intended to become transformative medicines, reshaping the clinical landscape for patients with cancer or autoimmune diseases.

www.t-therapeutics.com

About Coulter Partners

We are executive search and leadership development specialists working to build a better future. As advisors and consultants to companies at the cutting edge of Health, Science, and Technology, we are united by our mission to build teams that change the world. Operating uniquely as one global team, we have honed our expertise, platform, and data for over two decades, working across three continents, and in 40 countries. Applying what we learn through our work with boards, leadership teams, and investors in the world’s most innovative companies, we bring together and develop the right people at the right time to propel them to achieve their worthwhile goals.   www.coulterpartners.com