Ona Therapeutics Strengthens Leadership Team to Accelerate First-in-Class ADCs into Clinical Development Across Cancer Types

• Dr. Aleix Prat, an internationally recognized leader in drug and biomarker development appointed Chair of the Advisory Board
• Dr. Jutta Amersdorffer appointed as Chief Medical Officer and Stéphane Durant des Aulnois appointed as Chief Financial Officer
• Accelerating development of first-in-class ADCs in multiple large solid tumor types designed against novel targets with a focus on eliminating hard-to-treat resistant cancer cells

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ona Therapeutics ("Ona"), a global biotech company pioneering first-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), today announced key leadership appointments to support its rapid growth and pipeline advancement. Dr. Aleix Prat, a global leader in drug and biomarker development, has been appointed Chair of the Advisory Board. Additionally, Dr. Jutta Amersdorffer has joined as Chief Medical Officer and Stéphane Durant des Aulnois as Chief Financial Officer. These appointments come at a pivotal time as Ona accelerates the development of its first-in-class ADC therapeutics, targeting novel tumor-specific markers to eliminate hard-to-treat, resistant cancer cells and advance its pipeline toward clinical development across multiple cancer types.

Specialized in understanding the biology of hard-to-treat cancers and expertise in biotherapeutic discovery, Ona is developing a pipeline of ADCs tailored to exploit the molecular underpinnings of advanced cancer. Ona´s unique strategy is enabled by analyzing scarce real-world patient biopsies to uncover novel therapeutic targets that are fundamental to the particular biology of treatment-refractory advanced cancer. Its lead ADC, ONA-255, has broad potential to treat breast, gastric, and other solid tumors, and is advancing through IND-enabling studies to initiate clinical development by the end of 2025. In parallel, Ona is developing ONA-389, a second ADC that is positioned for the treatment of advanced microsatellite stable (MSS) colon and liver cancers. This promising therapeutic is set to begin IND-enabling studies in the second half of 2025.

Ona has appointed Dr. Aleix Prat, an internationally recognized leader in precision oncology with an outstanding track record in cancer research, biomarker development, and clinical trials, as Chair of the Advisory Board. In collaboration with Ona's Advisor, Dr. Roger Gomis, he has been instrumental in identifying the target of ONA-255 and functionally validating it, working alongside the expert team at Ona. Their combined efforts have generated critical preclinical data to support the clinical development of ONA-255. This important data which has been exclusively licensed to Ona from FCRB-IDIBAPS, IRB Barcelona, UB and ICREA, bolsters the foundation for ONA-255's progression. Dr. Prat serves as the Director of the Clínic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center, Professor of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, and is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of REVEAL GENOMICS^®.

With over 300 peer-reviewed publications and leadership roles in oncology research, clinical trials, and precision medicine initiatives, Dr. Prat has been at the forefront of developing and translating novel therapies and diagnostic tools into clinical practice.

Dr. Jutta Amersdorffer joins as Chief Medical Officer and brings extensive experience in translational medicine, clinical and medical development, and pharmacovigilance for innovative biologics. She previously held multiple managerial and senior clinical roles at Sandoz, MorphoSys, and Otsuka Novel Products. She holds a medical license and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Munich and holds an MBA from the University of Applied Science.

Stéphane Durant des Aulnois has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. With over two decades of experience in finance, business development, investor relations, and private equity, Stéphane brings a wealth of expertise. He spent nine years at Ipsen, first as Vice President and Head of Investor Relations before advancing to CFO of Ipsen Iberia. His career also includes the role of CFO and Head of Alliances & Business Development at Lysogene, a Phase 3 gene therapy company listed on Euronext, roles in private equity at LaSalle Investment Management and Calyon Americas, and as a sell-side research analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. Stéphane simultaneously serves as CFO at Corteria Pharmaceuticals.

He holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics (LSE), an MSc in Management from Paris Dauphine University, and an Executive Leadership degree from Harvard Business School.

Valerie Vanhooren, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Ona Therapeutics, said: "ADCs have transformed cancer treatment; however, the technology has been applied to a limited number of tumor targets. These limitations restrict the number of patients who can benefit from treatments and highlight the critical need to identify new broadly expressed tumor targets. Ona's tailor-designed ADCs have the potential to define new treatment paradigms and patient populations. With the expansion of our executive team and advisory board, Ona is well-positioned to execute our strategic vision to develop multiple first-in-class ADCs and advance our pipeline into clinical development to improve clinical results across multiple tumor types in patients."

Dr. Aleix Prat, New Chair of the Advisory Board at Ona Therapeutics, commented: "Ona's cutting-edge technology has the potential to redefine treatments for aggressive and refractory cancers. As a strong advocate for precision oncology, I am committed to driving the development of novel, targeted therapies that improve patient outcomes. I am honored to contribute my expertise to this groundbreaking innovation."

About Ona Therapeutics
Ona Therapeutics is pioneering the development of first-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that exploit the molecular underpinnings of advanced cancer. As a spin-off of both IRB and ICREA, Ona collaborates with renowned academics, clinicians, and clinical research partners. This collaborative approach enables the identification of novel therapeutic targets derived from the unique biology of treatment-refractory advanced cancer patients. Ona's approach combines biological insight with expertise in biologics to design ADCs and antibody therapies using target validation, optimized payload design, and validated linker-payload technology to provide effective treatments for patients with limited options. Its precision-engineered ADC pipeline consists of first-in-class ADCs, targeting aggressive and refractory cancer indications. The lead ADC, ONA-255, targeting breast cancer and solid tumors is in active IND development with planned clinical submissions by the end of 2025. The company is also expanding its target indications into additional aggressive cancer types, including gastric, liver, and colon cancers. For further information visit our new website here https://ona-therapeutics.com/. 

SOURCE Ona Therapeutics