ONA Therapeutics appoints Mark Throsby to its Board of Directors
Barcelona, Spain, March 5th, 2021: Ona Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutic biologics to treat metastatic cancer, announces today that it has appointed Dr. Mark Throsby as independent board member of its Board of Directors. Dr. Throsby is a proven senior executive with more than 20 years of experience in the pharma & biotech industry and has led multiple drug discovery programs from conception to the clinic.
“Mark’s experience in developing therapeutic biologics in oncology combined with his know-how of building science-driven companies strengthens the ONA team tremendously as we advance our treatments for metastatic cancer to the clinic,” said Valerie Vanhooren, Ph.D., CEO of ONA Therapeutics. “I welcome Mark to our team and look forward to working with him.”
Dr. Mark Throsby is a biopharmaceutical executive with extensive research experience and a track record of innovation and execution. He gained a PhD in Immunology from Monash University Melbourne, Australia and spent four years as a research fellow with CNRS in Paris. Dr Throsby started his industry career at Crucell NV and worked there for 8 years in various roles, notably as Director of Antibody discovery. Dr Throsby joined Merus BV in 2008 as COO (CSO from 2013) leading all the research activities of the company. He is an expert in antibody engineering and immunology with more than a dozen granted patents and >40 peer reviewed publications.
“I am excited by the novel approach ONA Therapeutics is taking to develop urgently needed treatments for patients with advanced cancer”, said Mark Throsby. “I look forward to working with the board and closely with Valerie and her team to support them in their important mission.”
About Ona Therapeutics
Ona Therapeutics, with headquarters in the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), Barcelona, Spain, is a biotech company that specializes in the discovery and development of therapeutic biologics targeting tumor metastatic-initiating cells and lipid metabolism. Founded in 2019 by Salvador Aznar-Benitah and Valerie Vanhooren, it was a spin-off from ICREA and Advanced Studies, and the IRB Institute for Research in Biomedicine. The company closed a series A in June 2020 and is supported by a strong European investor syndicate including Alta Life Sciences, Asabys Partners, Bpifrance – InnoBio 2, Fund+ and Ysios Capital.