Galecto Strengthens Leadership Team with Blueprint Medicines Veterans as DMR-001 Advances Toward Clinical Trials
核心洞察
Galecto (搜索) appointed Sherwin Sattarzadeh as Chief Operating Officer and Dr. Becker Hewes as Chief Medical Officer, both former Blueprint Medicines executives with extensive hematology/oncology drug development experience.
The company's lead asset DMR-001 (搜索), a potentially best-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting mutant calreticulin (搜索), remains on track for IND submission in mid-2026 with subcutaneous administration planned.
With $285 million raised in November 2025 PIPE financing, Galecto (搜索) has financial runway into 2029 to support multiple data milestones, including Phase 1 clinical proof-of-concept data for DMR-001 (搜索) anticipated in 2027.
Galecto (搜索), Inc. announced the appointment of two seasoned biotechnology executives from Blueprint Medicines Corporation to key leadership positions, strengthening the company's capabilities as it prepares to advance its lead blood cancer therapeutic into clinical trials. Sherwin Sattarzadeh joins as Chief Operating Officer and Dr. Becker Hewes as Chief Medical Officer, both effective January 5, 2026.
The leadership additions come as Galecto (搜索) prepares to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for DMR-001 (搜索), a potentially best-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting mutant calreticulin (搜索) (mutCALR), in mid-2026. The company expects first-in-human dosing via subcutaneous administration to follow the IND submission.
Executive Appointments Bring Deep Oncology Experience
Sattarzadeh brings over 20 years of industry experience across drug development and company lifecycle management. During his 10-year tenure at Blueprint Medicines, he held positions of increasing responsibility including Head of Regulatory Affairs, Chief of Staff, and SVP Strategic Operations before serving as Chief Business Officer. His extensive background in hematology/oncology and rare disease drug development includes leading and contributing to global approvals of AYVAKIT® (avapritinib), GAVRETO® (pralsetinib), CERDELGA® (eliglustat) and MOZOBIL® (plerixafor).
Dr. Hewes contributes over two decades of drug development experience in public biotechnology companies. As Chief Medical Officer at Blueprint Medicines, he led development of an industry-leading pipeline across mast cell disorders and solid tumors, including the approval of AYVAKIT (avapritinib) for indolent and advanced systemic mastocytosis (搜索). His career encompasses clinical development and translational medicine efforts for multiple early-stage oncology programs through clinical proof-of-concept, including Kisqali® (ribociclib), as well as leading registration programs for Bosulif® (bosutinib) and Torisel® (temsirolimus).
"We are thrilled to welcome leaders of Sherwin and Becker's caliber to the executive team at Galecto (搜索)," said Hans Schambye, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Galecto. "Their extensive experience in drug development and new product launches, combined with their proven leadership, will be critical as we advance DMR-001 (搜索) into clinical trials later this year. With our strengthened executive team, Galecto is well-positioned to rapidly advance our pipeline and deliver transformational therapies to patients in need of new and improved treatment options."
DMR-001 Targets Unmet Need in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
DMR-001 (搜索) represents a potentially best-in-class anti-mutCALR monoclonal antibody demonstrated to have highly potent activity in both Type 1 and Type 2 mutCALR-driven preclinical models. This broad activity profile supports its potential to address the full spectrum of CALR mutations in both essential thrombocythemia (搜索) (ET) and myelofibrosis (搜索) (MF).
The therapeutic candidate is engineered with validated half-life extension technology to enable infrequent low-volume, subcutaneous dosing designed to maximize target coverage and patient convenience. The company anticipates Phase 1 clinical proof-of-concept data for DMR-001 (搜索) in 2027.
Strong Financial Position Supports Development Timeline
Galecto (搜索)'s cash balance, including $285 million raised in a November 2025 PIPE financing, provides financial runway into 2029 to support multiple data milestones. This funding positions the company to advance its pipeline of antibody therapeutics targeting hematological cancers.
Beyond DMR-001 (搜索), Galecto (搜索)'s pipeline includes GB3226 (搜索), a first-in-class preclinical dual inhibitor of ENL-YEATS (搜索) and FLT3 (搜索) for the treatment of multiple genetic subsets of acute myeloid leukemia (搜索).
The company granted equity compensation packages to both new executives, with Sattarzadeh receiving 190,376 restricted stock units and stock options for 444,209 shares, while Dr. Hewes received 264,629 restricted stock units and options for 528,603 shares. The stock options carry an exercise price of $21.82 per share with vesting schedules tied to continued employment.