Benzinga | Nov 5, 2020 08:15AM EST

Agenus Appoints Dr. Steven O'Day Chief Medical Officer

Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN), an immuno-oncology company with an extensive pipeline of checkpoint antibodies, cell therapies, adjuvants, and vaccines designed to activate immune response to cancers and infections, today announced the appointment of Dr. Steven O'Day, MD, as its Chief Medical Officer.

"We welcome Dr. O'Day as we take our lead candidates to BLA and advance several of our novel therapies into advanced phases of clinical development," said Garo Armen, PhD, Chairman and CEO of Agenus. "Dr. O'Day's pioneering record in the development of I-O therapies and cancer treatments will be invaluable as we implement rapid and innovative clinical trials for approval."

Dr. O'Day's leadership in the immuno-oncology field spans three decades. He was part of a small group of investigators to treat the first patients with the first checkpoint antibody, an anti-CTLA-4 molecule, ipilimumab. He presented the seminal data at the plenary session at ASCO in 2010 which demonstrated the curative potential of anti-CTLA-4 and its long and durable survival benefit in patients with metastatic melanoma. These data led to the FDA approval of ipilimumab the following year. Dr. O'Day will be presenting clinical outcomes on our next-generation anti-CTLA-4 molecule, AGEN1181, at SITC 2020 starting on November 11th.

"Agenus is the most innovative company in this field with platforms and capabilities that have produced an outstanding pipeline of clinical and preclinical agents. I am excited to join Agenus' pathbreaking scientific and clinical team. We share a bold vision for the future," Dr. O'Day said. "Together, we will accelerate optimal combination treatments for patients with cancer. This is a transformative period in the company's history, and I am thrilled to join the team."

Dr. O'Day has been a principal investigator for more than 200 clinical trials, including international pivotal trials in which he has held leadership roles. He currently serves as Executive Director of the John Wayne Cancer Institute and Cancer Clinics at Providence St. John's Health Center and Director of the Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology Research Center. After receiving his BA in chemistry from Williams College, Dr. O'Day was selected as a visiting scholar in philosophy and medical ethics at Oxford University. He received his MD and completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine followed by a Medical Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Fellowship at the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.