EUGENE, Ore., Aug. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cascade Prodrug, Inc. (“Cascade”), a biotechnology company focused on advancing novel Hypoxia Activated Therapies in oncology, today announced the appointment of Manuel (Manny) Litchman, M.D. and Andres Gutierrez M.D., Ph.D. to its Board of Directors.

Since April 2017, Dr. Litchman has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Mustang Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on translating today’s medical breakthroughs in cell therapies into potential cures for difficult-to-treat cancers. Previously he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Arvinas, Inc., and earlier he held senior leadership positions at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, including Senior Vice President and Executive Global Program Head for CTL019 (now Kymriah) and Vice President and Head of Oncology Business Development & Licensing. He brings more than three decades of biopharmaceutical leadership experience spanning preclinical and clinical drug development, business development, and corporate financing.

Dr. Litchman earned his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency and hematology-oncology fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital /Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Gutierrez is an executive clinical scientist with deep oncology expertise, known for driving global and U.S. clinical development and cross-functional execution for more than 20 years. He has built agile, high-performing teams across clinical development and operations, regulatory affairs, biometrics, marketing, strategy and fundraising activities to deliver integrated brand success. His work spans from small molecules (e.g., GSIs, carfilzomib, talazoparib, etc) to antibodies (e.g., anti-PD-1, LAG-3, CXCR4, bispecifics) and biologic agents (e.g., oncolytic viruses, neoantigen immunotherapies) in phase 1-4 trials. For the past 10 years, he has served as Chief Medical Officer at Ayala, Advaxis, Oncolytics Biotech and Sellas Life Sciences.

Dr. Gutierrez earned his M.D. and Ph.D. and completed his internal medicine residency at National University of Mexico-IMSS and completed a fellowship in Clinical Oncology Research at Hammersmith Hospital, London UK.

“We are excited to welcome Manny and Andres to our board,” said Allan Cochrane, President and Co-Founder of Cascade. “Their proven track records in advancing groundbreaking therapies, directing drug development teams and leading multiple financing rounds and strategic partnerships will be invaluable as we move our lead compound CPD100Li into the clinic.”

“I’m honored to take on the role of Board member at Cascade at such an exciting time in its growth. The company’s innovative approach to oncology drug delivery has the potential to transform patient outcomes, and I look forward to working closely with the other Board members and leadership team to accelerate the development of CPD100Li and successfully initiate its first Phase 1 clinical trial,” said Dr. Litchman.

“I welcome the opportunity to join the Board and leadership team,” said Dr. Gutierrez. “I am eager to apply my skills and collaborate with Manny and the great team at Cascade to advance the development of hypoxia-activated therapies for cancer.”

About Cascade Prodrug, Inc.
Cascade is an oncology focused biotechnology company developing hypoxia activated therapeutics leveraging one of the most common features of the tumor microenvironment. Our lead candidate CPD100Li has shown robust in-vivo activity in multiple tumor types including lung, colon and pancreatic cancer as a stand-alone agent or in combination with chemotherapeutics and checkpoint inhibitors.

CPD100Li is currently entering IND-enabling studies and will initially target pancreatic cancer, pediatric low-grade glioma and other tumors prone to hypoxia. For more information on Cascade and CPD100Li please visit www.cascadeprodrug.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: 
The information in this press release may include “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of U.S. securities legislation, relating to the business of Cascade, which are based on the opinions and estimates of Company management and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Cascade Prodrug, Inc.
Allan Cochrane
President & Co-Founder
allan@cascadeprodrug.com

Eric Malek
Chief Business Officer
eric@cascadeprodrug.com