ONK Therapeutics recently welcomed Ph.D. Bruce McCreedy as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)to their Executive Leadership Team. The Enterprise Ireland-backed company is headquartered in Galway, Ireland, but will have Dr. McCreedy join the USA subsidiary in San Diego. Prior CSO and Scientific Founder of ONK Therapeutics, Professor Michael O’Dwyer will remain a board director of the company and a scientific advisor.
Dr. McCreedy’s three decades of experience began with his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the School of Medicine of Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and he is now a renowned immunologist, cell, and gene expert. Notably, his experience as CSO at Myeloid Therapeutics, Inc. and as SVP Cell Therapy and Immuno-Oncology Research at Precision Biosciences demonstrates his lengthy experience in R&D related to off-the-shelf allogeneic cell therapies for cancer treatment and drug development.
ONK Therapeutics has been working to establish a global leadership position with its innovative off-the-shelf NK cell therapy technologies. With series A funding, ONK has been able to engineer a, “NK cell therapy platform designed to improve the metabolic health, persistence and anti-tumor effect has been strengthened through a number of licensing agreements. These include world-leading CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and LNP delivery technologies from Intellia Therapeutics that will enable the company to take full advantage of its suite of proprietary edits, including the CISH knockout technology licensed globally from WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research), Melbourne, Australia.” According to the ONK website.
Dr. McCreedy’s hire is one step in the overall strategic development of ONK’s corporate structure, specifically in the growth of its transatlantic team. The ONK CEO, Chris Nowers commented, “Bruce’s deep R&D leadership experience will be invaluable as ONK executes on its growth ambitions, advancing its portfolio of optimized NK cell therapies through IND and into human clinical trials. I look forward to working with Bruce as he further builds the momentum and expansion of our R&D teams in the USA and Ireland.” In addition to corporate development, ONK is focusing on progressing its manufacturing plan toward GMP manufacturing and clinical trial supply.
In reference to his new role, Bruce McCreedy states, “I am excited to be joining ONK Therapeutics at a pivotal time in its development as it navigates its path towards clinical trials. I have been impressed by ONK’s innovative approach to developing optimally engineered NK cell therapies which I believe have the potential to make a significant contribution to the growing arsenal of cell-based therapies to treat and even cure cancer, offering new hope for patients.”
Enterprise Ireland looks forward to seeing Dr. McCreedy’s impact on this growing global company as they strive to create the next generation of off-the-shelf, optimally engineered NK cell therapies.
