Kinnate Biopharma Appoints Dean J. Mitchell as Chairman of the Board

Laurie Smaldone Alsup, M.D. also joins as a board member

SAN DIEGO, Calif.— September 9, 2020 — Kinnate Biopharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule kinase inhibitors for difficult-to-treat, genomically-defined cancers, today announced the appointment of Dean J. Mitchell as board Chairman. Mr. Mitchell is an accomplished executive who brings more than three decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to the company. The company also announced today that global regulatory expert and accomplished pharmaceutical executive Laurie Smaldone Alsup, M.D. has joined its board of directors.

“On behalf of the entire Kinnate team, we are honored to welcome these world-class leaders to our board. Dean and Laurie have successful track records serving in senior leadership positions at market-leading biopharmaceutical companies and bring deep expertise in clinical development and regulatory strategy that will be invaluable as we scale our operations and plan to enter clinical studies next year,” said Nima Farzan, CEO of Kinnate. “I am looking forward to working with them both to bring targeted therapies to patients who are not currently benefiting from precision medicines.”

Mr. Mitchell currently serves on the Theravance Biopharma, ImmunoGen and Precigen (previously Intrexon) boards of directors. Previously, he was Executive Chairman of the board of directors at Covis Pharma Holdings until its acquisition in March 2020 and Chairman of the board of directors at PaxVax until it was acquired by Emergent BioSolutions in 2018. From 2010 to 2013, he served as President and CEO of Lux Biosciences. Prior, he was President and CEO of Alpharma until its acquisition by King Pharmaceuticals and Guilford Pharmaceuticals before its acquisition by MGI PHARMA. Mr. Mitchell held senior positions at Bristol Myers Squibb, including president of North America Primary Care and International Pharmaceuticals businesses. Mr. Mitchell spent 14 years at GlaxoSmithKline in senior management, product strategy and business development positions, and led the company’s global clinical and commercial development groups. Mr. Mitchell holds a B.S. in biology from Coventry University, and an M.B.A. from City, University London’s Cass Business School.

“Kinnate represents the very best in our industry with a patient-driven mission and a clear and strategic focus on areas of large unmet need in oncology,” said Mr. Mitchell. “I am proud to be part of this talented team and am looking forward to helping the company work towards improving outcomes for people fighting cancer.”

Dr. Smaldone Alsup has more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical leadership experience in clinical drug development, global regulatory strategy, and product approvals across multiple therapeutic areas including cancer, rare disease and immunologic disorders. She currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Medical Officer of NDA Group, a regulatory and product development consulting firm. Prior, she was President and CSO of PharmApprove, a scientific communications consultancy and President and CEO of Phytomedics. During her 20 years at Bristol Myers Squibb she had leadership roles of increasing responsibilities in cancer and infectious diseases clinical development including Senior Vice President of Global Regulatory Science, co-chair of the Brand Development Operating Committee, where she was responsible for late-stage development and commercialization, and Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Risk Management. She currently serves on the board of directors at Arvinas Inc., Blackberry Limited, and Theravance Biopharma. Dr. Smaldone Alsup holds a B.A. in biology from Fordham College and an M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine, where she completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Medical Oncology.

“Kinnate has built a world-class team that has made tremendous progress in their work to expand treatment options for people who are non-responders or have developed resistance to existing targeted therapies,” said Dr. Smaldone Alsup. “I am pleased to join this talented group as they work to bring the benefits of precision medicine to more people.”

Mr. Mitchell and Dr. Smaldone Alsup join existing board members Mr. Farzan, Keith Flaherty, M.D. (Harvard Medical School), Carl Gordon, Ph.D. (OrbiMed), Steve Kaldor, Ph.D. (Fount Therapeutics), Michael Rome, Ph.D. (Foresite Capital), and Jim Tananbaum, M.D. (Foresite Capital).

About Kinnate Biopharma Inc.
Kinnate Biopharma Inc. is focused on the discovery and development of small molecule kinase inhibitors for difficult-to-treat, genomically-defined cancers. Our mission is to expand the reach of targeted therapeutics by developing products for underserved populations. Kinnate utilizes its deep expertise in structure-based drug discovery, translational research, and patient-driven precision medicine, which we refer to as the Kinnate Discovery Engine, to develop targeted therapies. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the Kinnate team is composed of drug discovery experts supported by world-class scientific advisors and investors. For more information, please visit www.kinnate.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Colin Sanford
colin@bioscribe.com