Country for PR: China
Contributor: PR Newswire Asia (China)
Monday, July 13 2020 - 08:00
AsiaNet
Antengene Appoints Former Celgene ANZ Medical Leader Dirk Hoenemann as Head of Medical Affairs in Asia Pacific Region & Early Clinical Development
SHANGHAI and MELBOURNE,Australia,July 13,2020/PRNewswire-AsiaNet/--

Antengene Corporation (Antengene) today announced the appointment of Dirk 
Hoenemann, M.D as VP, Head of Medical Affairs for Asia Pacific Region (APAC) 
and Early Clinical Development. He will report directly to Mr. Thomas Karalis, 
Head of Asia Pacific Region and Jay Mei, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Antengene 
Corporation.

In this role, Dirk will be responsible for establishing the Antengene APAC 
Medical Affairs function, structure and processes, and the clinical development 
strategies for multiple early phase compounds/programs.

Photo-https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200712/2855484-1

Dirk has over 20 years of experience in clinical research, translational 
medicine, academia, and the pharmaceutical industry. He has led multiple 
clinical programs, including first-in-human initiatives with novel antibody 
formats in hematological malignancies and solid tumors, and has made critical 
contributions to the first CAR-T study in Australia targeting LewisY. Dirk has 
also held numerous leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry. In his 
most recent role at Celgene, he led the development of Early Clinical 
Development programs for the Asia Pacific Region and the successful launches of 
lenalidomide, pomalidomide, and azacitidine in some APAC markets.

"Following the sNDA of ATG-010 in DLBCL last month in the U.S., we are thrilled 
to have Dirk join the team today and bring his profound global translational 
research and clinical development experience to the team," said Jay Mei, M.D., 
Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Antengene. "Dirk is a highly accomplished oncology 
researcher and an outstanding leader with impressive ability to lead teams of 
highly qualified individuals in high pressure environments. I believe he will 
play an essential role in boosting Antengene's growth in the Asia Pacific 
Region so as to achieve our mission of treating and making a positive 
difference in the lives of cancer patients in these markets."

Dr. Dirk Hoenemann said: "I feel honored to join Antengene, a pharmaceutical 
company dedicated to the research of advanced and novel medicines. Besides, 
it's my privilege to have the opportunity to lead the company's Medical Affairs 
& Early Clinical Development and bring forward the company's strong pipeline of 
medicines that meet the unmet medical needs in the Asia Pacific Region and 
worldwide. "

Dirk earned his Doctor of Medicine from Charite, University Hospital Berlin, 
and Internal Medicine from University of Würzburg.

About Antengene

Antengene is a biopharmaceutical company with integrated drug discovery, 
clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization anchored in Asia 
Pacific region with global layout, aiming to provide the most advanced and 
first-in-class anti-cancer drugs and other treatments for patients in China, 
the rest of Asia and around the world. In April 2017, Celgene (now officially 
acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and a world's top ten pharmaceutical company 
after the merger), a global leading innovative biopharmaceutical company became 
a founding partner and obtained an equity position as an investor in Antengene. 
Over the past 3 years, Antengene has obtained 7 IND approvals with 6 
first-in-class drugs in more than 10 ongoing cross-regional clinical trials in 
Asia Pacific regions, and has built a product pipeline of 12 clinical and 
pre-clinical stage programs. The vision of Antengene, "Treating Patients Beyond 
Borders." is to meet the unmet medical needs of patients in Asia Pacific 
regions and around the world through research & development and 
commercialization of first-in-class drugs.

ATG-010 (selinexor) is the first oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export 
(SINE) compound with novel mechanisms in the world. In July 2019, the U.S. FDA 
approved selinexor in combination with low-dose dexamethasone for the treatment 
of adult patients with relapsed refractory multiple myeloma. In June 2020, 
selinexor was approved by the U.S. FDA as a treatment for patients with 
relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Currently, the 
registration clinical trials of ATG-010 in relapsed refractory multiple myeloma 
(RRMM) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are ongoing in China. The 
compound is also in late clinical development for various other hematologic 
malignancies and solid tumors. In addition, preclinical studies have shown that 
inhibitors of nuclear protein export XPO1 can effectively treat KRAS mutant 
tumor, and related clinical studies are currently being conducted.

ATG-008 is a second-generation dual mTORC1/2 inhibitor presently being studied 
in multi-regional clinical trials for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular 
carcinoma, as well as lung cancer, gynecological cancers and several other 
tumors as a single agent or in combination with an anti-PD-1 antibody. 

ATG-016 is a second-generation oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export 
protein, and is currently being studied in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) as 
well as in several clinical trials of solid tumors, including colorectal cancer 
(CRC), gastric carcinoma (GC), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and 
prostate cancer (PrC).

ATG-019 is the first-in-class PAK4/NAMPT dual-target inhibitors, and is 
currently being studied in a number of clinical trials including non-Hodgkin's 
lymphoma (NHL), colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma. In addition, 
preclinical studies have demonstrated that ATG-019 in combination with 
anti-PD-1 antibodies can effectively improve the anti-tumor activity and is 
effective in tumors that became resistant to anti-PD-1 therapy.

ATG-527 is an innovative product under development for antiviral and treatment 
of autoimmune diseases, and has been in clinical trial of healthy volunteers 
and been studied against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), respiratory syncytial virus 
(RSV) infection, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and Systemic lupus 
erythematosus (SLE) and other related diseases.

ATG-017 is a potent and selective small molecule extracellular signal–regulated 
kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) inhibitor, in clinical development for the treatment 
of various solid tumors, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, acute myelocytic leukemia 
(AML) and multiple myeloma.

In addition, the drug discovery team of Antengene focuses on the discovery and 
early preclinical development of multiple innovative drugs with novel targets 
in the fields of small molecules, monoclonal and bi-specific antibodies. For 
more information, please visit www.antengene.com.

Forward-looking Statement

The forward-looking statements made in this article relate only to the events 
or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this article. 
Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise 
publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new 
information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements 
are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read 
this article completely and with the understanding that our actual future 
results or performance may be materially different from what we expect. In this 
article, statements of, or references to, our intentions or those of any of our 
Directors or our Company are made as of the date of this article. Any of these 
intentions may alter in light of future development.

SOURCE:  Antengene Corporation

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=367187

   Caption: Dr. Dirk Hoenemann