Therapeutic Workshop
Bullseye: Novel Targets in Oncology
Thursday, October 30, 2008
5:00pm - 6:15pm
Twin Peaks South
A vast number of insights into the molecular basis of cancer and solid tumors have yielded exciting targets and a belief that the development of new cancer therapeutics will become more predictable, rational and efficient. This panel will describe emerging data on targeted therapies for cancer and how these new agents are reshaping treatment strategies. Learn more about biological targets, new drug profiles, cell cycle point of intervention, specificity and emerging biomarkers. Leading clinicians and drug developers will debate: clinical settings for these new therapeutics including first-line use and adjuvant; combination or sequential strategies; which targets are likely to prevail in cancer treatment; and the patients who may benefit from the use of targeted cancer therapies.
Moderator
- Jason Kantor, PhD, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets
Panelists
Industry:
- Daniel R. Passeri, President and CEO, Curis, Inc.
- Lori Kunkel, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Proteolix, Inc.
Clinician:
- Sunil Sharma, MD, Chief of the Section of GI Oncology and Clinical Phase 1 Unit, Nevada Cancer Institute
- Pamela Munster, MD, Associate Professor of Dept of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology), Director of Early Phase Clinical Trials Program, Associate Director of Investigational Therapeutics, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco
Who's Who
Jason Kantor, PhD Dr. Kantor joined RBC Capital Markets in 2005 as a managing director and senior biotechnology equity research analyst. Previously, he was a managing director and senior biotechnology analyst at WR Hambrecht + Co from 2002 to 2005, and vice president in equity research at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co from 1998 to 2002. Previous equity research assignments also include Salomon Smith Barney and Josephthal Lyon & Ross. Dr. Kantor’s healthcare expertise covers several important categories including oncology, cardiology, antibody technology and infectious disease. In 2004, Fortune magazine ranked Dr. Kantor as an “All-Star Analyst,” and the Wall Street Journal ranked him #2 in its “Best on Wall Street Survey.” Dr. Kantor received his B.A. cum laude in Biology from the University of California, San Diego and his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University.
Daniel R. Passeri Mr. Passeri has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director since September 2001. From November 2000 to September 2001, Mr. Passeri served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategic Planning of the Company. From March 1997 to November 2000, Mr. Passeri was employed by GeneLogic Inc., a biotechnology company, most recently as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. From February 1995 to March 1997, Mr. Passeri was employed by Boehringer Mannheim, a pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic company, as Director of Technology Management. Mr. Passeri is a graduate of the National Law Center at George Washington University, with a J.D., of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of London, with an M.Sc. in biotechnology, and of Northeastern University, with a B.S. in biology.
Lori Kunkel, MD Dr. Kunkel has served as Chief Medical Officer of Proteolix since April 2007. From 2005 until 2007, Dr. Kunkel served as Vice President of Clinical Development of Xencor , Inc. Prior to her tenure with Xencor, Inc., Dr. Kunkel was an independent clinical oncology and immunology consultant, offering strategic clinical, regulatory and technical advice to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Dr. Kunkel has also held senior positions at Genentech, Chiron Corporation (now Novartis) and Genitope Corporation. Dr. Kunkel received her M.D. at the University of Southern California and completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Subsequently, Dr. Kunkel completed Hematology and Oncology Fellowships at the University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles, respectively. She is board certified in internal medicine, hematology and oncology.
Pamela Munster, MD Pamela Munster, MD, is Associate Professor of Hematology/Ongology, Director of the Early Phase Clinical Trials Program, and Associate Director of Investigational Therapeutics at the University of California, San Francisco. Formerly, she was Associate Professor in the Division of Breast Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics Program at the Moffitt Cancer Center at the University of South Florida. Dr. Munster’s research interests include the development of therapies for breast cancer and treatment strategies. She is an expert in histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. Dr. Munster is involved with investigations on the benefit of HDAC inhibitors in combination with topo I and topo II inhibitors. She specializes in the preservation of ovarian function and fertility in women undergoing treatments for breast cancer. Dr. Munster has an additional interest in the study and treatment of pregnancy-related breast cancers. She is published extensively and is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
Sunil Sharma, MD As Chief of the Section of Gastrointestinal Oncology and of the Clinical Phase I Unit, Dr. Sharma directs the early phase clinical programs and gastrointestinal cancer programs for the Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI). A medical oncologist, Sharma brings a wealth of experience in global management of clinical trails for new anti-cancer agents. His work involves the development and implementation of clinical trials and innovative technologies designed to help accelerate the development of novel therapeutics for cancer patients.
Prior to joining NVCI, Dr. Sharma served as head of several early phase clinical programs in oncology at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey. For the last two and a half years, he was responsible for guiding the development of new anticancer agents from bench side (laboratory) to the clinic. In addition, he was also responsible for global management of clinical trials for new anti-cancer agents in the clinic. This work involves development and implementation of novel technologies (genomic and proteomic) in the clinic in a way that would speed up the development of novel therapeutics for cancer patients.
Trained in internal medicine at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Dr. Sharma received his medical oncology training at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where he worked under Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, a pioneer in the area of novel drug development in oncology. As a fellow, Dr. Sharma worked in Dr. Von Huff's laboratory to define a novel enzyme telomerase as a therapeutic target in cancers. In addition, his clinical research at San Antonio focused on designing and executing novel drug trials (Phase I and II) in oncology.
Following his fellowship, Dr. Sharma served as a clinical assistant attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer.