IDEAYA Biosciences Announces the Promotion of Dr. Michael White to President, Research and Development

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDYA), a precision medicine oncology company committed to the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics, today announced the promotion of Dr. Michael White, from Chief Scientific Officer to President, Research and Development, effective September 28, 2026. 

"I am excited to announce this well-deserved promotion for Mike, as President of Research and Development. During Mike's 5-year tenure as Chief Scientific Officer, he has demonstrated exceptional leadership and has been a key driver in advancing IDEAYA's mission to deliver patient impact in areas of high unmet medical need through R&D innovation. Under Mike's leadership, I am excited to see the continued advancement of our industry leading precision medicine oncology pipeline targeting multiple solid tumor indications, including uveal melanoma, pancreatic cancer, small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, among others," said Yujiro S. Hata, President and Chief Executive Officer of IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc.

"I am honored to take on this expanded role at such a pivotal time for IDEAYA and grateful for the extraordinary commitment of our research and development teams. We have made tremendous progress in translating our precision medicine capabilities into a deep and differentiated oncology portfolio, with late-stage programs that have the potential to establish new standards of care and early-stage programs that may open entirely new therapeutic opportunities. I am particularly excited by our ability to advance innovative small molecules and antibody-drug conjugates for molecularly defined cancers where patients continue to face significant unmet need. I look forward to building on this momentum and accelerating the delivery of transformative therapies that can meaningfully improve and extend the lives of patients with cancer," said Dr. Michael White, President, Research and Development, IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. 

Dr. White has served as Chief Scientific Officer at IDEAYA Biosciences since 2021. Prior to IDEAYA, Dr. White served as Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Tumor Biology at Pfizer, Inc., where he led cross-disciplinary groups in research and development to build an oncology small-molecule clinical pipeline focused on first-in-class therapies, culminating in numerous INDs and late-stage development programs. Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. White had a prolific over twenty-year academic career at UT Southwestern where he was a Professor of Cell Biology and founding Director of the Cancer Intervention and Prevention Discovery Program. In 2015, Dr. White received the inaugural Outstanding Investigator's Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the U.S. Government's principal agency for cancer research, and has authored over 150 publications with over 30,000 citations. Dr. White received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed postdoctoral research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories in New York.

About IDEAYA Biosciences

IDEAYA is a precision medicine oncology company committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of transformative therapies for cancer. Our approach integrates expertise in small-molecule drug discovery, structural biology and bioinformatics with robust internal capabilities in identifying and validating translational biomarkers to develop tailored, potentially first-in-class targeted therapies aligned to the genetic drivers of disease. We have built a deep pipeline of product candidates focused on synthetic lethality and antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, for molecularly defined solid tumor indications. Our mission is to bring forth the next wave of precision oncology therapies that are more selective, more effective, and deeply personalized with the goal of altering the course of disease and improving clinical outcomes for patients with cancer.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding IDEAYA's research and development strategy and objectives; the expected contributions of Dr. Michael White in his expanded role as President, Research and Development; the continued advancement of IDEAYA's precision medicine oncology pipeline; the potential of IDEAYA's late-stage programs to establish new standards of care and its early-stage programs to create new therapeutic opportunities; IDEAYA's ability to develop and advance innovative small-molecule therapies and antibody-drug conjugates for molecularly defined cancers; and the potential for IDEAYA's product candidates to improve and extend the lives of patients with cancer. 

These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks related to the timing, progress, and results of clinical trials and preclinical studies; the ability of IDEAYA to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals; uncertainties regarding the regulatory review process, including participation in the RTOR program; the potential for clinical data to differ from preliminary or interim results; the ability to successfully develop, manufacture, and commercialize product candidates; competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; the impact of global economic conditions; IDEAYA's ability to successfully establish, protect and defend its intellectual property: and other risks described in IDEAYA's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and IDEAYA undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investor and Media Contact
IDEAYA Biosciences
Joshua Bleharski
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]

SOURCE IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc.