Oncolytics Biotech Appoints CMO

Oncolytics Biotech announced that Dr. Rita Laeufle, M.D., Ph.D., who has been working as a consultant for Oncolytics for the last four months, has been appointed as chief medical officer.  Dr. Laeufle will oversee the clinical development plan for pelareorep as the company drives towards a registration study in breast cancer.

"Dr. Laeufle brings a tremendous track record in clinical advancement to Oncolytics, including an approval in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer," said Dr. Matt Coffey, president and chief executive officer of Oncolytics Biotech. "Her experience in establishing the processes, teams and external support needed to gain approval will be invaluable as we prepare for our phase three registration study in metastatic breast cancer. With Dr. Laeufle’s additional background in gastrointestinal cancer and under her guidance, our objective is to establish a second registration pathway in this area, such as colorectal cancer, anal cancer or pancreatic cancer."

Dr. Laeufle brings more than 15 years of experience in drug development in oncology, most recently serving as vice president of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs at SFJ Pharmaceuticals where she developed a clinical program for a new drug substance class in colon cancer. Previously, Dr. Laeufle was senior vice president, Clinical Development of Oncology at Coherus Biosciences where she developed a biosimilar strategy for Avastin, prior to which she was senior medical director, Global Medical Affairs at Clovis Oncology, where she led the Medical Affairs strategy for their PARP inhibitor, Rucaparib. 

"Having had the chance to work with the Oncolytics team since July and evaluate the oncolytic virus space from an internal perspective, I couldn’t be more excited to join Oncolytics and look forward to being a part of the exciting and rapidly advancing oncolytic virus therapeutic arena," said Dr. Laeufle. "Pelareorep’s potential includes a very favorable safety profile and statistically significant efficacy data in metastatic breast cancer, as well as supporting data that it is a synergistic treatment option in other cancers, particularly in gastrointestinal cancer in combination with immunotherapy. I strongly believe that pelareorep has the potential to change the treatment landscape of a wide number of indications based on its synergy with a number of immunotherapy agents and targeted treatments in oncology."

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