Orum Therapeutics (“Orum” or the “Company”) (KRX: 475830), a public biotechnology company pioneering the field of degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs), today announced the appointment of Dorin Toader, Ph.D., as Head of Platform Technology. Dr. Toader brings more than 27 years of experience in drug discovery, including over 15 years in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). He will be responsible for defining and executing Orum’s technology vision, leading efforts across chemistry and antibody engineering, and guiding innovation in payload design, conjugation technologies, linker–payload strategies, structural biology, and computational modeling to advance Orum’s Dual-Precision Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD²) approach and expand its therapeutic applications.
“Dorin’s career reflects a proven ability to translate bold science into clinical candidates, including advancing multiple first-in-class ADC candidates into the clinic,” said Sung Joo (SJ) Lee, Founder and CEO of Orum. “His deep expertise in payload and linker design, together with Orum’s established capabilities in structure-based drug design and advanced computational methods such as physics-based modeling and machine learning, will strengthen our ability to innovate and scale our platforms. These combined strengths position us to build the next generation of targeted degrader-antibody conjugates with the potential to benefit patients across a broad range of cancers and other serious diseases.”
“The field of protein degradation is entering a transformative stage, and Orum is at the forefront with its proprietary Dual-Precision Targeted Protein Degradation approach,” said Dr. Toader. “I was drawn to Orum’s vision of creating entirely new classes of targeted degraders by uniting them with the precision of antibody delivery and its investment in structure-based design and computational innovation to drive DAC research and development. I look forward to applying my experience in payload and bioconjugation chemistry to expand Orum’s DAC platforms and broaden the impact of degrader-based medicines in the clinic.”
Dr. Toader joins Orum from Mersana Therapeutics, where he most recently served as Vice President of Chemistry and Bioconjugation, leading teams that delivered novel payload platforms and advanced pipeline programs, including the first STING agonist ADC candidate into clinical development. Earlier in his career, he held scientific and leadership roles at MedImmune, AstraZeneca, and Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to multiple first-in-class drug candidate nominations and investigational new drug (IND) applications. Over his 23-year career in oncology drug discovery, Dr. Toader has built and led high-performing cross-functional teams, authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, and is a named inventor on six granted patents.
About Orum’s TPD²® Approach
Orum’s unique Dual-Precision Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD²®) approach builds novel targeted protein degraders combined with the precise cell delivery mechanisms of antibodies to generate innovative, first-in-class, cell-selective TPDs for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. Orum has developed new targeted protein degrader payloads to specifically degrade an intracellular target protein within cancer cells via the E3 ubiquitin ligase pathway. Conjugated to antibodies, the payloads are designed to be delivered specifically to target cells and precisely degrade the intracellular target protein of interest.
About Orum Therapeutics
Orum Therapeutics is a public biotech pioneering the development of cell-specific, targeted protein degraders (TPD²®) with the precision of antibody targeting to develop the next generation of degrader antibody conjugates (DACs) for oncology and beyond. The company is advancing its GSPT1-directed TPD² programs and developing novel degrader payloads to expand the potential of targeted protein degradation. Orum's novel targeted protein degrader payloads are designed to selectively degrade key intracellular proteins, offering a highly targeted approach to treating difficult-to-treat diseases. Orum is located in Lexington, MA, US, and Daejeon, South Korea. For more info, visit www.orumrx.com.
Orum Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Orum Therapeutics, Inc. (“Orum”). Statements in this release regarding matters that are not historical facts, including, but not limited to, statements relating to the expansion and scaling of its platforms; the creation of next-generation targeted degrader-antibody conjugates; the potential initiation of clinical trials; and the range of indications for Orum’s products and their potential benefit to patients are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the uncertainty of success in research and development activities; competition from alternative therapies; and risks related to the recruitment and retention of key employees, fluctuating markets and economic conditions, and future fundraising. The forward-looking statements in this presentation speak only as of the date of this release, and Orum undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of the statements. Orum cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release.
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“The field of protein degradation is entering a transformative stage, and Orum is at the forefront with its proprietary Dual-Precision Targeted Protein Degradation approach,” said Dr. Toader.
Contacts
Corporate: IR/PR, Orum Therapeutics, media@orumrx.com
Media: Jessica Yingling, Ph.D., President, Little Dog Communications Inc., jessica@litldog.com