Mirna hires former Pfizer director as CMO

Dr Sinil Kim has left his position as a senior director at Pfizer to join Mirna Therapeutics as chief medical officer and senior VP, oncology.

Mirna will be banking on Dr Kim's extensive experience in oncology, which includes serving as global clinical lead for kidney cancer drugs Inlyta (axitinib) and Torisel (temsirolimus) during his time at Pfizer.

Prior to this, he was director of clinical oncology at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he worked on the clinical development of Erbitux (cetuximab), which is approved for colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer.

His additional experience includes being co-founder of DepoTech, where he invented several liposomal drug products, including DepoCyt (cytarabine liposome injection), DepoDur (morphine sulfate extended-release liposome injection) and Exparel (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension).

This background will benefit Mirna, which has just started phase I trials for its lead oncology candidate MRX34 – the first micro-RNA product to enter a clinical trial in cancer.

Dr Paul Lammers, president and CEO of Mirna, commented: “The depth and breadth of Sinil's clinical and regulatory expertise in oncology, as well as his reputation as a respected industry executive responsible for successfully developing multiple marketed oncology products, will be of significant value to our clinical team as we work together to strengthen our leadership in the development of miRNA-based therapeutics as a promising new class of anticancer agents.”