Zai Lab is looking to boost its cancer credentials and pipeline with the appointment of Roche oncology vet Alan Sandler, M.D.
Sandler joins the Chinese biotech in the newly created role of president and head of global development, oncology.
Here, he will “lead global oncology development and related enabling functions to support the company’s development activities,” according to Zai’s statement.
Sandler joins the biotech after being president and global head of product development oncology at Genentech, Roche’s biologics arm, one of the biggest jobs in cancer, and was key in the work to get checkpoint inhibitor Tecentriq developed and approved.
Now, he moves over to Zai Lab, which has been working on infectious and autoimmune diseases but also has a focus on cancer, which will now presumably be ramped up. It already has its GlaxoSmithKline/Tesaro-licensed PARP filed in China (known as Zejula in the U.S.), with a similar deal for Deciphera’s Qinlock in China and with MacroGenics for the bispecific tebotelimab.
It does have its own internal cancer pipeline, made up predominately of preclinical assets. As part of his new role, Sandler will also be responsible for adding to that oncology pipeline.
“We are delighted to welcome Alan to Zai Lab as we continue to expand globally and strengthen our R&D leadership,” said Samantha Du, Ph.D., founder, chairwoman and CEO of Zai Lab. “Throughout his distinguished career, Alan has made significant contributions as a respected leader in the oncology community, both in industry and through his clinical practice and academic research. Alan has played a key role in the development of many innovative oncology therapies. We look forward to his leadership of our oncology franchise as we advance towards our goal of becoming a leading global biopharma company.”
“I’m very excited to be joining Zai Lab, given its robust pipeline of innovative clinical compounds,” added Sandler. “I look forward to accelerating the development of Zai’s extensive and differentiated pipeline of oncology compounds, guide them through regulatory review, and bring them as quickly as possible to patients in need in China and around the world. I am also excited about working to identify additional product candidates to further expand Zai’s oncology portfolio.”
The biotech hit a snag two years ago when it stopped development of a treatment for atopic dermatitis after it failed to beat placebo in a phase 2a trial, although this setback did little to halt the company’s progress.