BRISBANE, Calif., Sept. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TPST), a clinical-stage oncology company developing first-in-classi therapeutics that combine both targeted and immune-mediated mechanisms, announced today that executive vice president and chief medical officer, Sam Whiting, M.D. Ph.D., has expanded his role to include head of Research and Development.
"Sam is an experienced industry drug developer whose additional years of academic research and clinical practice as a medical oncologist at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center provide broad insight in to how to develop drugs that would be integrated into medical practice and could improve the lives of cancer patients," said Stephen Brady, president and chief executive officer of Tempest. "Sam's abilities as both a drug developer and internal leader have made him an important part of our transformation into a promising, later-stage clinical company that includes our lead program, TPST-1120, the first randomized data from which showed an exciting improvement over the standard of care therapy in first-line liver cancer."
Dr. Whiting added, "Tempest has a scientifically rigorous and very talented Research and Development team, and I'm honored to take on this expanded leadership role. Our preclinical and translational sciences fuel the company's robust pipeline, while providing key insight into our clinical programs. I am excited by the opportunities for synergy between research and clinical development and what we can achieve together with our diversified pipeline of first-in-class therapeutics that range from early discovery all the way to TPST-1120 and its potential in liver cancer, renal cell carcinoma and beyond."
Dr. Whiting joined Tempest as executive vice president and chief medical officer in November 2020, and assumed the role of chief medical officer and head of research and development following the departure of Tom Dubensky, Ph.D., who has become an advisor to the company. Prior to joining Tempest, Dr. Whiting served as senior vice president of clinical development at Calithera Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing treatments for cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Before Calithera, Dr. Whiting served as vice president of research ...