GlobeNewswire Inc | Aug 31, 2020 08:00AM EDT

August 31, 2020

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRSN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing a pipeline of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting cancers in areas of high unmet medical need, today announced the appointment of Chuck Miller as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

Chuck has over 25 years of regulatory affairs, program leadership, and product development experience and his addition to the team comes at an important time for Mersana. Chuck has been instrumental in the submission of regulatory filings for multiple products that have transformed patient outcomes. His expertise with both early and late-stage product development, product approvals and life-cycle management will be invaluable as we continue to advance XMT-1536 and our robust and maturing pipeline of ADC candidates with the potential to provide meaningful benefits for cancer patients, said Anna Protopapas, president and chief executive officer of Mersana Therapeutics. We are very pleased to have him on our team.

Mr. Miller was most recently Vice President of Regulatory Strategy and Labeling at TESARO, Inc before its acquisition by GSK. While at TESARO he was part of the research and development leadership team that provided strategic direction and management of development teams across the entire portfolio. He was instrumental in the approval of ZEJULA (niraparib) in multiple indications and geographies. Previously, he worked as Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs at Cubist, before its acquisition by Merck. At Cubist he was the Global Regulatory Lead for the ZERBAXA (ceftolozane/tazobactam) product development team and the lead responsible for teams managing lifecycle development of DIFICID (fidaxomicin), CUBICIN (daptomycin) and other drug candidates from Phase 1-3. He has also worked in regulatory strategy and affairs at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Idenix Pharmaceuticals and Acambis Inc. Mr. Miller holds a B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Boston University.

It is incredibly exciting to join the Mersana leadership team at such a pivotal time for the Company. Just this year Mersana has already demonstrated strong proof of concept for XMT-1536 in ovarian cancer, initiated patient enrollment in the Phase 1 dose escalation study for XMT-1592 and progressed earlier programs into late-stage discovery, said Mr. Miller. I share the vision of advancing clinically meaningful treatments for patients living with cancer and I am looking forward to working with the team.

About Mersana TherapeuticsMersana Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company using its differentiated and proprietary ADC platforms to rapidly develop novel ADCs with optimal efficacy, safety and tolerability to meaningfully improve the lives of people fighting cancer. Mersanas lead product candidate, XMT-1536, is in the expansion portion of a Phase 1 proof-of-concept clinical study in patients with ovarian cancer and NSCLC adenocarcinoma. XMT-1592, Mersanas second ADC product candidate targeting NaPi2b-expressing tumors, was created using Mersanas customizable and homogeneous Dolasynthen platform and is in the dose escalation portion of a Phase 1 proof-of-concept clinical study. The Companys early stage programs include a B7-H4 targeting ADC, as well as a STING-agonist ADC developed using the Companys Immunosynthen platform. In addition, multiple partners are using Mersanas Dolaflexin platform to advance their ADC pipelines.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts and are based on managements beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements include information concerning the Companys business strategy and the design, progression and timing of its clinical trials. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by terms such as aims, anticipates, believes, contemplates, continues, could, estimates, expects, goal, intends, may, on track, plans, possible, potential, predicts, projects, seeks, should, target, will, would or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements represent managements beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. The Companys operations involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside its control, and any one of which, or combination of which, could materially affect its results of operations and whether the forward-looking statements ultimately prove to be correct. Factors that may materially affect the Companys results of operations and whether these forward-looking statements prove to be correct include, among other things, that preclinical testing may not be predictive of the results or success of ongoing or later preclinical or clinical trials, that the development and testing of the Companys product candidates and new platforms will take longer and/or cost more than planned, and that the identification of new product candidates will take longer than planned, as well as those listed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 28, 2020, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 8, 2020, with the SEC and subsequent SEC filings. In addition, while we expect that the COVID-19 pandemic might adversely affect the Companys preclinical and clinical development efforts, business operations and financial results, the extent of the impact on the Companys operations and the value of and market for the Companys common stock will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence at this time, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, physical distancing and business closure requirements in the U.S. and in other countries, and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain and treat the disease. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Contact:

Investor & Media Contact Sarah Carmody, 617-844-8577scarmody@mersana.com