October 21, 2020
Sam Whiting, M.D., Ph.D., Joins Tempest as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
South San Francisco, CA – October 21, 2020 - Tempest Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company developing first-in-class therapeutics that combine both precision and immune-mediated mechanisms, today announced that Sam Whiting, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the executive management team as executive vice president and chief medical officer to lead clinical development. Dr. Whiting brings broad expertise in global oncology drug development ranging from early-stage studies through pivotal clinical trials.
“Sam has the rather unique combination of a successful career in clinical development advancing oncology drug candidates at both private and public biotech companies, as well as a distinguished tenure in academic medicine that makes him the ideal CMO for Tempest,” said Tom Dubensky, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Tempest. “His diverse background and thoughtful approach to development will provide welcome insight as Tempest develops two first-in-class small molecule therapeutics that have the potential to bring benefit to patients across a range of oncologic indications.”
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 and clinical development at Gradalis and worked in development of small molecule targeted and immune-oncology agents at VentiRx Pharmaceuticals and Oncothyreon. Prior to joining industry, Dr. Whiting served as assistant professor of medical oncology at the University of Washington, assistant member of clinical research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and clinical head of gastrointestinal oncology at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Dr. Whiting completed fellowship training in medical oncology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. His training in internal medicine was through the ABIM Research Pathway at the University of Washington. Dr. Whiting received his B.S. with Honors in Chemistry from Lewis and Clark College and his M.D. and Ph.D. in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Washington.
“I am very excited to join the Tempest team,” said Dr. Whiting. “Tempest’s growing pipeline of anticancer therapies is impressive, already including two promising clinical-stage compounds, TPST-1120 and TPST-1495, which are both first-in-class and uniquely designed to target tumor cells directly and enhance the anti-tumor immune response. Tempest’s leadership team is deeply experienced and talented, and has positioned the company well for success. I look forward to working with the team to advance the programs and to build a company that is driven to bring meaningful benefit to patients with cancer.”
About Tempest Therapeutics
Tempest Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company advancing small molecules that combine both precision and immune-mediated mechanisms with the potential to target a wide range of tumors. The company’s two novel clinical programs are TPST-1120 and TPST-1495, antagonists of PPARα and EP2/4, respectively. Both TPST-1120 and TPST-1495 are progressing through Phase 1 studies designed to study both agents as monotherapies and in combination with other approved agents. Tempest is also developing an inhibitor of TREX-1, an exonuclease highly expressed in tumors that suppresses both STING and tumor immunity, to activate STING selectively in tumors via a systemically-delivered small molecule. Tempest is headquartered in South San Francisco and supported by notable healthcare investors. More information about Tempest can be found on the company’s website at www.tempesttx.com.
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