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C4 Therapeutics Announces World-Class Scientific Advisory Board With Expertise in Therapeutics and the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System
[November 17, 2016]

C4 Therapeutics Announces World-Class Scientific Advisory Board With Expertise in Therapeutics and the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System


C4 Therapeutics (C4T) today announced Ken Anderson, M.D., Nathanael Gray, Ph.D., Christopher Kirk, Ph.D. and Eric Fischer, Ph.D. as the members of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

"We are thrilled to have Ken, Nathanael, Chris, and Eric play an important role as our advisors at C4T," said Andrew Phillips, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of C4 Therapeutics. "Their world-renowned expertise in clinical oncology, drug discovery and development, and the basic-science of the ubiquitin-proteasome system will be invaluable as we both advance drug candidates toward the clinic and develop new tools and technologies that keep C4T at the cutting edge."

The inaugural members of the C4 Therapeutics scientific advisory board include:

Ken Anderson, M.D.

Dr. Anderson is the Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and Lebow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His research has pioneered understanding of the tumor microenvironment in multiple myeloma, and he has played an extensive role in the development and approval of numerous new treatments for myeloma patients. His research and impact on patient outcomes has been widely recognized including the ASH William Dameshek Prize, AACR Joseph Burchenal Award, ASCO David Karnofsky Award, and the ACS (News - Alert) Medal of Honor in Science.

Dr. Anderson received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins Medical School, where he also trained in internal medicine, and completed hematology, medical oncology and tumor immunology training at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, served as President of the Internationa Myeloma Society, and is President-elect of the American Society of Hematology.



Nathanael Gray, Ph.D.

Dr. Gray is a Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and an Investigator at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Previously, he was a Director of Biological Chemistry at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation. His research focuses on the discovery of small molecules that impact biological pathways important in cancer. These efforts have produced numerous first-in-class kinase inhibitors that have become widely used to understand complex biology and have also inspired drug discovery programs.


Dr. Gray's research has been recognized by many awards including the Meyenburg Cancer Research Award, the American Chemical Society Award for Outstanding Research in Biological Chemistry, and the AACR Award for Team Science. Dr. Gray received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

Christopher Kirk, Ph.D.

Dr. Chris Kirk is Co-Founder, President, and Chief Scientific Officer of Kezar Life Sciences. Prior to Kezar, Dr. Kirk was the Vice President of Research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where he played a key role in the discovery and development of two proteasome inhibitors, carfilzomib (KYPROLIS™), currently approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma, and oprozomib, currently in Phase II clinical trials.

Dr. Kirk is a co-inventor on over 30 patents and has authored more than 45 publications in leading journals including Cell, Nature Medicine, and Nature Reviews. Dr. Kirk received his B.S. from the University of California, Davis and his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan.

Eric Fischer, Ph.D.

Dr. Fischer is an Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator in the Department of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His research focuses on the use of structural biology, cell biology, and biochemical approaches to develop an intimate understanding of the complex mechanisms that underlie function and regulation of multi-component ubiquitin ligases and their role in cancer and ultimately leverage this understanding for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Fischer has been recognized for his pioneering work on the structure of cereblon and the mechanism of action of thalidomide. Dr. Fischer received his B.Sc. in molecular biology and M.Sc. in structural biology from the University of Basel and his Ph.D. in structural biology from the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland.

About C4 Therapeutics

C4 Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company developing a new class of drugs based on Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) to address a broad range of life-threatening and life-impairing diseases. C4T's Degronimid™ platform uses small molecule drugs to direct the machinery of the ubiquitin-proteasome system to selectively degrade disease-relevant proteins for therapeutic benefit. This distinctive mechanism provides new opportunities to target traditionally difficult-to-treat diseases and diseases plagued by drug resistance.

More information about C4 Therapeutics is available at www.C4Therapeutics.com.


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