Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX) announced today the appointment of Mark F. Kubik as Head of Business Development - Oncology, strengthening the company's position in the competitive antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market. The strategic hire comes as Akari advances its novel payload ADC platform and lead asset AKTX-101.
Mr. Kubik brings over 25 years of industry experience with a proven track record of establishing transformative deals that have resulted in multiple approved therapeutic products. His expertise spans oncology therapeutics, including ADCs and antibody therapies, from early discovery through clinical development stages.
"We are incredibly pleased to welcome Mark to our team to lead the Company's business development activities for our novel ADC platform and lead asset AKTX-101, including collaboration and partnership activities," said Abizer Gaslightwala, President and Chief Executive Officer of Akari. "We believe the insight and expertise he brings will be invaluable as we continue to advance our innovative novel ADC platform technology and position Akari as a key player in the ADC space."
Novel Spliceosome Inhibitor Technology
Akari's lead candidate, AKTX-101, targets the Trop2 receptor on cancer cells and delivers the company's proprietary PH1 payload. Unlike conventional ADCs that utilize tubulin inhibitors or DNA damaging agents, PH1 is a novel spliceosome inhibitor designed to disrupt RNA splicing within cancer cells.
Preclinical studies have demonstrated that AKTX-101 exhibits significant activity and prolonged survival compared to ADCs with traditional payloads. The company reports that the candidate has shown potential synergy with checkpoint inhibitors, demonstrating prolonged survival both as a monotherapy and in combination treatments.
Mr. Kubik commented on the opportunity: "Over the past few years there has been significant Big Pharma interest and deal flow in the early-stage ADC space. While there is a lot of traction in this area of development, new, unique payloads with novel mechanisms that can advance the therapeutic potential of current ADCs are needed."
He added, "I believe Akari's first novel payload, a spliceosome inhibitor, creates the potential for Akari's lead asset AKTX-101 (Trop2 targeted) to be a first-in-class immuno-oncology ADC therapy for patients across multiple solid tumors. I look forward to working with the Akari team to advance AKTX-101 and leverage its innovative ADC payload discovery platform for other targets leveraging its novel payload library."
Extensive Industry Experience
Prior to joining Akari, Mr. Kubik served as Senior Vice President of U.S. and EU Business Development at I-MAB Biopharma. His career includes leadership positions as Chief Business Officer at both Genor Biopharma and Actinium Pharmaceuticals. At OncoImmune, he led the business development function that resulted in the company's $425 million acquisition by Merck.
His deal-making achievements include an ex-US strategic alliance between SeaGen (now Pfizer) and Takeda for Adcetris® (brentuximab vedotin), a multi-program bispecific mAb discovery collaboration between MacroGenics and Gilead, and a global co-development agreement between Abgenix (now Amgen) and Immunex for Vectibix® (panitumumab).
Mr. Kubik holds an MBA in Finance from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder and a BA (cum laude) in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the same institution.
Growing ADC Market Opportunity
The appointment comes at a strategic time for Akari as the ADC market continues to gain momentum. The company aims to capitalize on the growing interest from major pharmaceutical companies in novel ADC technologies, particularly those with unique payloads and mechanisms of action.
Akari's platform technology allows for the generation and optimization of ADC candidates for various targets of interest. Beyond AKTX-101, the company is working to validate its novel PH1 payload for additional undisclosed targets, expanding its potential therapeutic applications.
The company's focus on developing next-generation spliceosome payload ADCs represents a differentiated approach in the competitive oncology landscape, potentially addressing unmet needs across multiple solid tumor indications.
