12.10.18
Onconova Therapeutics announced that Mr. Abraham “Avi” Oler has joined Onconova’s management team as vice president, Corporate Development and General Counsel. Mr. Oler will be primarily responsible for business development, investor relations, and legal affairs of the Company.
Mr. Oler served most recently as vice president of Operations and chief of staff to the chief executive officer of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
To help further advance Rigosertib, the Company’s Phase 3 candidate for MDS, Mr. Oler’s focus will be on forging new collaborations in additional geographies. Rigosertib is currently partnered with SymBio Pharmaceuticals for Japan and Korea, and with Pint Pharma for Latin America.
Mr. Oler served most recently as vice president of Operations and chief of staff to the chief executive officer of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
“We are pleased to welcome Avi to Onconova,” commented, Ramesh Kumar, chief executive officer of Onconova. “We believe Avi is an accomplished executive with the skill set and track record that will enable us to achieve our business development goals.”
Dr. Steve Fruchtman, president of Onconova, stated, “I have seen Avi use his varied talents to bring success and value, and execute impactful transactions in similar roles, and I look forward to his contributions to Onconova. There has not been an FDA approved treatment for higher-risk MDS in over a decade. The promising data from the Phase 2 combination trial of oral rigosertib and azacitidine (Vidaza®), presented at an oral session on MDS on December 1st at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, as well as the continued execution of the pivotal INSPIRE trial in higher-risk MDS, make this a particularly exciting time for Avi to join Onconova.”
“I am honored to join Onconova at such a momentous time, and to showcase Onconova as a partner of choice,” said Mr. Oler. “Onconova’s pipeline of clinical product candidates, the advanced stage of development of Rigosertib, and the recent promising data presented at the ASH 2018 Annual Meeting make Onconova a compelling potential partner for other companies. I am delighted to join my new colleagues at Onconova, to have the opportunity to work with Steve again, and, along with the Onconova Team and our Corporate Partners, work toward bringing a new treatment option to patients with MDS.”
