Speaker Profile
Other, Director, Pacylex Pharma
Biography
Michael J. Kamdar is an experienced life science and healthcare executive with over 35 years of international leadership experience. He is an industry veteran that has done over $1.5B in business deals and raised more than $750 million from venture firms and public markets. Mr. Kamdar has led andor founded a number of life science and healthcare companies, including Molecular Assemblies (President CEO and Director), Ciclofilin Pharmaceuticals (Founder and Director, which acquired by Hepion), VentiRx Pharmaceuticals (Founder, CEO and Director, which was subsequently acquired by Celgene), Avalyn Pharmaceuticals (Founder, CBO and Director), Anadys Pharmaceuticals (CBO and CFO) (Nasdaq: ANDS) and Agouron Pharmaceuticals (Head of Global Business Development) (Nasdaq: AGPH) which was acquired by Pfizer. He currently sits on the Board of AeenaDx and the Strategic Advisory Board of YatiriBio.
Talk
NMT Inhibitors: New ADC Payloads for Cancer
Cancer hijacks processes involving myristoylation, becoming more dependent on this for survival than normal cells. Phase 1 study of zelenirstat, Pacylexs first in class N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) demonstrated acceptable safety and signs of efficacy in solid tumor patients. NMTi properties are attractive for ADC payloads, especially for solid tumors.
Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Pacylex Pharmaceuticals
Pacylex Pharmaceuticals is the world leader in the clinical development of N-myristoyltransferase inhibition (NMTi) therapy for cancer. Pacylex has exclusive license to a family of 503 small molecule NMTis, 28 of which have single nM IC50s against human NMT1.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2025 Silicon Valley
The PMWC 2025 Emerging Therapeutics Showcase will provide a 15-30 minute time slot for selected companies and researchers in the CRISPR, Cell and Gene Therapy fields. Major advancements in safer cell- and gene-level editing technologies are bringing us closer toward cures for life-threatening disorders, from cancer to HIV to Huntington’s disease. Cell therapy, in which cellular material such as T cells capable of fighting cancer cells, is injected into a patient, has been demonstrated safe and effective. The popular new CRISPR tool that has been used to edit the genetic code of nearly any organism will have an enormous impact on human health. More than a dozen clinical trials employing CRISPR on human cells are already underway.
- Emerging Therapeutics/Cell Therapy
- Emerging Therapeutics/CVD
- Emerging Therapeutics/Gene Therapy
- Emerging Therapeutics/Immunotherapy
- Emerging Therapeutics/Radiation Therapy
