Tubulis Appoints Seasoned ADC Expert Björn Hock as Chief Development Officer

Tubulis today announced the appointment of Björn Hock, PhD, as Chief Development Officer (CDO) to further strengthen its leadership team with a seasoned drug development expert. Dr. Hock previously served on the company’s scientific advisory board and has more than 20 years of experience in the field of antibody-based therapeutics, including antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs). At Tubulis, he will be responsible for defining preclinical development strategies for the company’s current drug candidates in oncology to rapidly achieve IND-readiness. In addition, he will work closely with the leadership team to design and execute relevant biomarker studies and investigate novel antibody-drug-combinations to further broaden the company’s pipeline of uniquely matched ADCs for a range of indications.

“Björn has been our trusted advisor since 2020, providing valuable guidance and creative input as well as serving as a critical sounding board in the development of our ADC platform technologies and product candidates,” said Dominik Schumacher, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Tubulis. “We are grateful for his extended commitment in supporting us as Chief Development Officer. His contributions will accelerate the advance and expansion of our pipeline as we continue on our mission to usher in a new ADC era and deliver better outcomes for patients.”

Dr. Hock added: “Through its differentiated and proprietary technologies covering all aspects of ADC development, Tubulis has established itself as an up-and-coming leader with a unique approach to ADC design. I am highly motivated to support the team in advancing its ADC candidates towards clinical evaluation and exploring novel ADC concepts to bring new treatment opportunities to patients as quickly as possible.”

"Gaining Björn’s commitment to move from an advisory position to Chief Development Officer speaks highly of the opportunity that Tubulis represents, and we applaud the leadership for continuing to build an outstanding team,” commented Christian Grøndahl, PhD, Chairman of Tubulis’ Supervisory Board.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Hock has led the successful development of several platform technologies and therapeutic programs from concept to lead candidate stage. In addition, he has managed global academic and industrial R&D collaborations. Most recently, he served as interim CEO at Aerium Therapeutics (formerly SwissThera SA), where he was responsible for building the European office and driving the preclinical development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody assets from discovery stage to first-in-human studies in less than 8 months. From 2017 until 2021, he was the Vice President of Biologics, Technologies and Development at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Prior, Dr. Hock worked in various positions at Merck KGaA for more than ten years, including his last position as Senior Director and Global Head of ADC and Targeted Therapeutics, where he oversaw the development of a variety of protein therapeutics from concept to lead stage. Dr. Hock holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg Speyer-Haus in Frankfurt.

About Tubulis

Tubulis generates uniquely matched protein-drug conjugates through the combination of novel proprietary technologies and disease-specific biologic insight. Our goal is to expand the therapeutic potential of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) by increasing design flexibility while overcoming constraints of toxicity, efficacy and indication. Tubulis will build new conjugates to fill its growing pipeline and will continue to collaborate with industry partners to usher in a new ADC era and deliver better outcomes for patients. Visit www.tubulis.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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