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The appointments of Dr. Karen Smith and Dr. Luke Walker to the Board bring extensive operational and clinical development experience to support corporate and pipeline strategy
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Context Therapeutics Inc. (“Context” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CNTX), a biopharmaceutical company advancing medicines for solid tumors, today announced the appointments of Karen Smith, MD, PhD, MBA, LLM and Luke Walker, MD, to its Board of Directors.
“Karen and Luke’s vast experience and proven leadership in the biopharmaceutical industry are tremendous assets for Context at this pivotal stage of our growth," said Martin Lehr, CEO of Context Therapeutics. “Karen’s extensive oncology drug development, regulatory, and strategy experience will be invaluable as Context continues to advance its pipeline. Luke brings an extensive track record in oncology drug development, including recent experience developing T cell engaging bispecific antibodies.”
Mr. Lehr continued, “These additions supplement our ongoing effort to build Context into a leading oncology company and advance potential best-in-class T cell engaging bispecifics.”
Dr. Karen Smith is a biopharmaceutical thought leader with over 20 years of experience bringing drugs into the clinic and through commercialization. She has been a key contributor to the successful development of multiple approved products in several therapeutic areas, including oncology (Herceptin, Vyxeos), rare disease (Defitelio), cardiology (Irbesartan), dermatology (Voluma, Botox), neuroscience (Abilify) and anti-infectives (Teflaro). Previously, she was Global Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, Dr. Smith held senior leadership roles at Allergan, AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Previously, Dr. Smith served on the Board of Directors of Antares Pharma (acquired by Halozyme for $960 million), Acceleron Pharma (acquired by Merck for $11.5 billion), Mariana Oncology (acquired by Novartis for $1 billion upfront), and Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Mallinckrodt for $1.2 billion). Dr. Smith currently serves on the Board of Directors of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Capstan Therapeutics, Sangamo Therapeutics, and Skye Bioscience.
Dr. Luke Walker has more than 20 years of clinical development experience as both an executive and board member. Most recently, he was the Chief Medical Officer of Harpoon Therapeutics, an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company where he was responsible for oversight of all aspects of clinical development programs using Harpoon’s TriTAC T-cell engager platform, which was acquired by Merck in 2024 for $680 million. Previously, Dr. Walker was Vice President of Clinical Development at Seagen, where he was the global development lead for Tukysa (tucatinib) through the program’s successful completion of a pivotal registrational trial and successful regulatory approvals. Earlier, Dr. Walker was Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Cascadian Therapeutics, which was acquired by Seagen in 2018 for $614 million. Dr. Walker began his career as a practicing medical oncologist and hematologist at Providence Regional Medical Center and with the Everett Clinic. Dr. Walker currently serves on the Board of Directors of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals.