Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MACK) reported that Daryl Drummond, Ph.D. will serve as Head of Research for the company. Dr. Drummond, a pioneer and expert in the segment of nanotherapeutics, has served on different leadership roles at company, including most recent role of VP of Discovery and Team Leader for company’s early-stage pipeline. He played an important role in the invention and advancement of ONIVYDE®, which was sold to Ipsen S.A.
The details
Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., the CEO and President of Merrimack, reported that Drummond’s successful track record of developing programs from the discovery phase into meaningful therapeutics is the kind of leadership that their research organization requires to move lead drug candidates forward and fulfill their objective to help people with cancer. Drummond manage a team of scientists who will generate critical data for the lead candidates in preclinical and clinical pipeline, comprising of engineered antibodies and antibody-led nanotherapeutics.
Prior to this role, Dr. Drummond served as Director of Liposome Research & Development at Hermes BioSciences, a firm that was bought by Merrimack in 2009. He earned post-doctorate degree in the lab of Demetrios Papahadjopoulos in San Francisco. Dr. Drummond earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from renowned Indiana University, with a focus on biophysics and membrane biochemistry, and pursued an Executive Training in Leadership and Strategy in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals from Harvard Business School.
Merrimack’s product candidates, including 3 in clinical trials and many others in preclinical stages, fit into its strategy of understanding the biological concerns they are trying to solve, designing specific solutions and advancing those solutions for biomarker-selected subjects. This 3-pronged strategy intends to achieve optimal patient outcomes.
In the last trading session, the stock price of Merrimack gained more than 1% to close the day at $3.15. The gains came at a share volume of 1.33 million compared to average share volume of 2.21 million.
