Xencor announces appointments

Xencor has appointed Debra Zack, MD, PhD, as vice president, clinical development, and Lloyd Rowland as senior vice president, chief compliance officer and general counsel, according to a press release.

The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company develops engineered monoclonal antibodies for treating autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases and cancer. Xencor’s internally discovered programs include XmAb5871, in phase 1b/2a clinical trials for treating rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, and XmAb7195 in phase 1 development for treating asthma, the release said.

“Debra’s expertise in biologics clinical development and medical affairs will be of great value to Xencor as we anticipate advancing the clinical development of XmAb5871 and XmAb7195, and as we progress to the clinic with our lead bispecific candidates,” Bassil Dahiyat, PhD, president and chief executive officer of Xencor, said in the release. “And Lloyd brings a wealth of legal, compliance and governance experience working with public companies and is an important addition to the team in our current stage of rapid growth.”

Zack was previously executive director, medical scientific leader at Novartis Institute for Biological Research. Rowland had worked at Amylin Pharmaceuticals for 12 years, and was most recently its vice president and chief compliance officer.