Exelixis Appoints Vicki L. Goodman, M.D., as Executive Vice President, Product Development & Medical Affairs, and Chief Medical Officer
– Veteran drug developer's career spans patient care, the FDA and biopharma –
– Dr. Goodman will lead Exelixis' expansion to the East Coast –
Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) today announced the appointment of Vicki L. Goodman, M.D., as Executive Vice President, Product Development & Medical Affairs, and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Goodman has more than 20 years of oncology experience as a drug development leader at global biopharmaceutical organizations, regulator and clinician. She joins Exelixis from Merck, where she served as Vice President, Clinical Research and Therapeutic Area Head, Late Stage Oncology; her previous tenures in the biopharmaceutical industry include clinical development leadership positions at Bristol Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Goodman joins Exelixis as the company continues to maximize the clinical potential of CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), its global oncology franchise, while rapidly advancing its pipeline of promising investigational small molecules and biologics to treat cancer.
"With her track record of targeted therapy and immunotherapy drug development success at the global biopharma level, as well as her experience as an FDA reviewer and hematologist-oncologist, Dr. Vicki Goodman is ideally positioned to be Exelixis' next Chief Medical Officer," said Michael M. Morrissey, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Exelixis. "We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Goodman to Exelixis as we execute on the ongoing CABOMETYX phase 3 pivotal trials, expedite late-stage clinical development of XL092, our next-generation oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and advance an exciting clinical pipeline of small molecules and biologics, including XB002, our first antibody-drug conjugate."
As Exelixis' CMO, Dr. Goodman will lead Exelixis' clinical development and medical affairs functions, leveraging experience gained throughout her varied career. While at Merck (2020-2021), she was responsible for overseeing key elements of the company's late-stage development portfolio, including KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) and other late-stage assets, in thoracic malignancies, head and neck cancers, breast and gynecologic cancers, and hematology. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Goodman served at Bristol Myers Squibb for five years, during which time she was a member of the company's Oncology Senior Leadership Team. Initially, as Vice President Development Lead (2015-2017), she managed the cross-functional team developing OPDIVO® (nivolumab)/YERVOY® (ipilimumab) for melanoma and genitourinary tumors, which included collaborating with Exelixis on the design of the CheckMate -9ER trial. In 2017, she was promoted to Vice President and Head, New Asset Development Teams, a role that included oversight of teams advancing a variety of assets between proof of concept and approval. Previously, from 2007 to 2015, Dr. Goodman served in roles of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), including as Project Physician Leader for dabrafenib from phase 1 expansion through regulatory approval, as well as Lead Physician in GSK's cancer epigenetics unit, where she was responsible for development strategy and clinical oversight for several assets initially entering clinical development.
"With a global oncology franchise in CABOMETYX, a growing clinical pipeline of novel small molecules and biotherapeutics – including the company's first antibody-drug conjugate – and ambitious plans to pursue new mechanisms, therapeutic modalities, and disease settings, Exelixis is at an inflection point," said Dr. Goodman. "I'm excited to draw on my extensive drug development and regulatory affairs experience, as well as my clinical training, to lead Exelixis' talented Product Development and Medical Affairs teams toward even more progress on the company's mission to help cancer patients recover stronger and live longer. I am also deeply honored to succeed Dr. Gisela M. Schwab, a trailblazing clinical development professional and biopharma executive, in the role of Chief Medical Officer."
Dr. Goodman will be based in the Greater Philadelphia area. As part of her role overseeing the company's product development operations, she will play a leadership role in building a new Exelixis team that will expand the company's development activities on the East Coast. Exelixis' East Coast presence will complement the company's strong and growing West Coast development team and enable the company to move even faster on behalf of patients, including by laying additional groundwork for potential future growth outside the United States. Founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1994, Exelixis has called California home since 1997, and it will continue to maintain and expand its global headquarters and oncology drug development activities in Alameda. Exelixis will share more information on its East Coast plans as they evolve over the course of this year.
Prior to entering the biopharmaceutical industry, from 2004 to 2007 Dr. Goodman was a Medical Officer in the then-Division of Drug Oncology Products, part of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Before that, from 2001 to 2004 she completed a clinical fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she also undertook her internship and residency. Dr. Goodman obtained her M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and her B.A. in Biochemistry with Honors from Rutgers University.
About Exelixis
Founded in 1994, Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) is a commercially successful, oncology-focused biotechnology company that strives to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. Following early work in model system genetics, we established a broad drug discovery and development platform that has served as the foundation for our continued efforts to bring new cancer therapies to patients in need. Our discovery efforts have resulted in four commercially available products, CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib), COTELLIC® (cobimetinib) and MINNEBRO® (esaxerenone), and we have entered into partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies to bring these important medicines to patients worldwide. Supported by revenues from our marketed products and collaborations, we are committed to prudently reinvesting in our business to maximize the potential of our pipeline. We are supplementing our existing therapeutic assets with targeted business development activities and internal drug discovery — all to deliver the next generation of Exelixis medicines and help patients recover stronger and live longer. Exelixis is a member of the Standard & Poor's (S&P) MidCap 400 index, which measures the performance of profitable mid-sized companies. For more information about Exelixis, please visit www.exelixis.com, follow @ExelixisInc on Twitter or like Exelixis, Inc. on Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements related to: the potential for Exelixis to expedite late-stage development of XL092 and advance an exciting clinical pipeline of small molecules and biologics; Exelixis' plans to expand its development activities on the East Coast, as well as prepare for potential future growth outside the United States, and Exelixis' intention to share more information on these plans during 2022; and Exelixis' plans to reinvest in its business to maximize the potential of the company's pipeline, including through targeted business development activities and internal drug discovery. Any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements and are based upon Exelixis' current plans, assumptions, beliefs, expectations, estimates and projections. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation: complexities and the unpredictability of the regulatory review and approval processes in the U.S. and elsewhere; Exelixis' continuing compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements; the potential failure of cabozantinib and other Exelixis product candidates, both alone and in combination with other therapies, to demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in clinical testing; uncertainties inherent in the product development process; the costs of conducting clinical trials; Exelixis' dependence on third-party vendors for the development, manufacture and supply of its products and product candidates; Exelixis' ability to protect its intellectual property rights; market competition, including the potential for competitors to obtain approval for generic versions of CABOMETYX; changes in economic and business conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and other factors affecting Exelixis and its development programs discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Exelixis' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 2, 2021, and in Exelixis' future filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Exelixis as of the date of this press release, and Exelixis undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as required by law.
Exelixis, the Exelixis logo, CABOMETYX and COMETRIQ are registered U.S. trademarks of Exelixis. COTELLIC is a registered trademark of Genentech, Inc.
MINNEBRO is a registered trademark of Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited.
OPDIVO® and YERVOY® are registered trademarks of Bristol Myers Squibb.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220104005214/en/