Ambrx Announces Abrupt Leadership Change, Discuses Pipeline Review

  • Kate Hermans has taken over the reins of Ambrx Biopharma Inc AMAM as interim CEO following the abrupt departure of Feng Tian, who also served as chairman of the board of directors.
  • The company did not provide information regarding the departure of Tian, who has been with Ambrx for nearly two decades.
  • Interim CEO Hermans joined Ambrx last month as a board of directors member. 
  • Bristol Myers Squibb Co Inc BMY moved out from a heart failure drug collaboration with Ambrx Biopharma in July. 
  • BMY disclosed in its earnings presentation the end of phase 2 development for FA relaxin.
  • The company has already launched a search for a permanent CEO, with Tian agreeing to remain available in an advisory capacity. 
  • The company plans to conduct a strategic review of its development pipeline “to maximize our commercial opportunities and extend the cash runway.”
  • “Ambrx remains confident in the clinical data of its drug candidates, in its platform technology, and in the ongoing promise of precision biologics,” the company said in a statement.
  • Ambrx’s lead asset is ARX788, an anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugate currently being studied broadly in breast cancer, gastric/GEJ, and other solid tumor clinical trials. 
  • Other drug candidates in development include ARX517, which targets the prostate-specific membrane antigen expressed on prostate cancer cells, and ARX305, which targets CD70, a protein overexpressed in a broad range of solid and hematologic tumors.
  • Ambrx also has a couple of preclinical immuno-oncology assets with Sino Biopharmaceutical.
  • Price Action: AMAM shares are up 4.49% at $2.56 on the last check Wednesday.
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