At Kura Oncology, we are committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer.
The genomics revolution is transforming how we treat cancer. We now understand that a patient’s response to treatment depends in part on the cancer’s genetic makeup. This new era of precision medicine offers the potential for innovative treatments that are safer and more effective for patients with certain cancers.
We are advancing a pipeline of precision medicines for the treatment of solid tumors and blood cancers. Our small-molecule drug candidates target signaling pathways and other drivers of cancer where there is a strong scientific and clinical rationale to improve outcomes by identifying those patients most likely to benefit from treatment.
Our goal is to help patients with cancer lead better, longer lives.
“We’re living in the golden age of oncology, and I believe that cancer will become a manageable condition within our lifetime.”
–Troy Wilson, President and CEO, Kura Oncology
Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Marc Grasso, M.D.
Chief Financial Officer and
Chief Business Officer
Kathleen Ford
Chief Operating Officer
James Basta, J.D.
Chief Legal Officer
Kirsten Flowers
Chief Commercial Officer
Bridget Martell, M.A., M.D.
Acting Chief Medical Officer
Francis Burrows, Ph.D.
Vice President, Translational Research
Pete De Spain
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Michael Kurman, M.D.
Vice President, Clinical Development
Gabriela Rossi
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Catherine Scholz, Pharm.D., R.Ph.
Vice President, Clinical Development
Blake Tomkinson, Ph.D., MBA
Vice President, Clinical Development
Jackie Tran
Vice President, Finance
Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D.
Chairman
Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., is one of Kura’s co-founders and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since our inception in August 2014. Previously, Dr. Wilson was co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Intellikine, Inc., a privately held company focused on the discovery and development of innovative, small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer, from 2007 until its acquisition in December 2011 by Takeda Pharmaceuticals for up to $310 million. He is currently a member of the board of directors of public companies Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBYI) and Zosano Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZSAN). Dr. Wilson also serves as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of managers of private companies Wellspring Biosciences Inc., Araxes Pharma LLC and Avidity Biosciences LLC. He obtained a J.D. from New York University and graduated with a Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry and a B.A. in biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Faheem Hasnain
Director
Mr. Hasnain has served as a member of our Board of Directors since April 2015. Mr. Hasnain served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Receptos, Inc. from November 2010 until the company’s acquisition by Celgene Corporation in August 2015. Prior to joining Receptos, Mr. Hasnain was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Facet Biotech Corporation, a biology driven antibody company with a focus in multiple sclerosis and oncology. He held that position from December 2008 until the company’s acquisition by Abbott Laboratories in April 2010. Previously, Mr. Hasnain was President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of PDL BioPharma, Inc. from October 2008 until Facet Biotech was spun off from PDL BioPharma in December 2008. From October 2004 to September 2008, Mr. Hasnain served at Biogen Idec Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and cancer, most recently as Executive Vice President in charge of the oncology/rheumatology strategic business unit. Prior to Biogen Idec, Mr. Hasnain held roles with Bristol Myers Squibb, where he was President of the Oncology Therapeutics Network, and for 14 years at GlaxoSmithKline and its predecessor organizations. He has been Chairman of the Board of Sente, Inc. since 2008, Chairman of the Board of Tocagen Inc. since November 2014 and member of the Board of Directors of Vital Therapies, Inc, since August 2016. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Ambit Biosciences Corporation and served as a member of the Board of Directors of Tercica, Inc., Aragon Pharmaceuticals and Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Hasnain received a B.H.K. and B.Ed. from the University of Windsor Ontario in Canada.
Robert Hoffman
Director
Mr. Hoffman has served as a member of our Board of Directors since March 2015. Mr. Hoffman has served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance of Heron Therapeutics, Inc. since April 2017. Prior to joining Heron Therapeutics, Mr. Hoffman served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Innovus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, since September 2016. Prior to Innovus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Hoffman was Chief Financial Officer of AnaptysBio, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from July 2015 until September 2016. Mr. Hoffman served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Arena, a public biopharmaceutical company from June 2012 to July 2015, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Arena from August 2011 to June 2012 and previously from December 2005 to March 2011, and in a number of roles of increasing responsibility from 1997 to December 2005. From March 2011 to August 2011, Mr. Hoffman served as Chief Financial Officer for Polaris Group, a biopharmaceutical drug company. Mr. Hoffman is a member of the Board of Directors of CombiMatrix Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company, and MabVax Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He also serves as a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Small Business Advisory Committee and the steering committee of the Association of Bioscience Financial Officers. In addition, Mr. Hoffman is a member and a former director and President of the San Diego Chapter of Financial Executives International. Mr. Hoffman holds a B.B.A. from St. Bonaventure University, and is licensed as a C.P.A (inactive) in the State of California.
Thomas Malley
Director
Mr. Malley has served as a member of our Board of Directors since October 2015. Mr. Malley has served as President of Mossrock Capital, LLC, or Mossrock, a private investment firm, since May 2007. He worked for Janus Mutual Funds in positions of increasing responsibility from April 1991 to May 2007. From January 1999 to May 2007, Mr. Malley served as the portfolio manager of the Janus Global Life Sciences Fund and also led the Janus Healthcare team of analysts. From 1991 to 1998 Mr. Malley served as an equity analyst for Janus covering, among others, healthcare and biotechnology stocks. Mr. Malley has been a director of OvaScience, Inc., a public life sciences company, since October 2012, and BeiGene, Ltd., a public biotechnology company, since January 2016. Previously, he served as a director of Synageva BioPharma Corp., a public biopharmaceutical company, from 2006 to 2015, until its acquisition by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Puma Biotechnology, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company, from 2011 to 2015, and Cougar Biotechnology, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company, from 2007 to 2009, until its acquisition by Johnson and Johnson. Mr. Malley holds a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University.
Diane Parks
Director
Ms. Parks joined the board of directors in October 2019 with more than 30 years of commercial experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President, Head of U.S. Commercial for Kite Pharma (acquired by Gilead for $11.9 billion), where she developed and executed the strategic plan for the commercial launch of Yescarta®, the first CAR-T therapy approved for large B-cell lymphoma. Previously, Ms. Parks served as Vice President, Head of Global Marketing for Pharmacyclics (acquired by Abbvie for $21 billion), where she was responsible for the marketing strategy and launch of Imbruvica®. Before that, she served as Vice President, Sales for Amgen, where she successfully led the Hospital and Nephrology sales teams. In addition, she served as Senior Vice President, Specialty Biotherapeutics and Managed Care for Genentech (acquired by Roche for $46.8 billion). She currently serves on the boards of Calliditas Therapeutics, Soligenix and TriSalus Life Sciences. Ms. Parks earned an MBA from Georgia State University and a BS from Kansas State University.
Steven Stein, M.D.
Director
Dr. Stein has served as a member of our Board of Directors since January 2017. Dr. Stein currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer of Incyte Corporation. Dr. Stein joined Incyte as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer in March 2015, and has over 10 years of experience in clinical development and regulatory interactions. Dr. Stein joined Incyte from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, US Clinical Development & Medical Affairs at Novartis Oncology US. Dr. Stein previously worked at GlaxoSmithKline as Vice President, Global Oncology, Clinical Development and also as Head of Medicines Development for Hematology and Supportive Care. Dr. Stein earned his MD from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mary Szela
Director
Ms. Szela joined our board of directors in November 2018 with more than 30 years of experience as an executive in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer and President of TriSalus Life Sciences, a company developing technologies to deliver immune oncology agents to solid tumors in high mortality cancers. Previously, she was Chief Executive Officer of Novelion Therapeutics, where she executed the merger of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals and QLT Therapeutics, and Melinta Therapeutics. Earlier, Ms. Szela spent 25 years at Abbott Laboratories, where she held a number of ascending leadership positions, including President of Abbott’s $8 billion U.S. Pharmaceuticals business. Ms. Szela has previously served on the board of Receptos, acquired by Celgene for $7.2 billion in July 2015, and Novo Nordisk, a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company. She currently serves on the board of Coherus Biosciences, Alimera Sciences and TriSalus Life Sciences. Ms. Szela earned an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Illinois.
And thus, we chose the name “Kura” as a link to our past efforts to discover and develop drugs and a metaphor for the central signaling pathways that drive cancer.