SOTIO Bolsters Leadership Team with Appointment of Martin Steegmaier as Chief Scientific Officer

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Sept. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SOTIO Biotech, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company owned by PPF Group, announced the appointment of Martin Steegmaier, Ph.D., MBA, as chief scientific officer. Martin Steegmaier brings over 20 years of experience in oncology drug discovery, drug development and business development. His extensive knowledge of the biotech industry and clinical immuno-oncology will be crucial as SOTIO continues to advance multiple assets through the clinic. He will be responsible for preclinical and translational research globally.

“As a seasoned biotechnology industry veteran and oncology drug discovery and development expert, Dr. Steegmaier will be an invaluable member of SOTIO’s leadership team as we work to develop new, innovative treatments for cancer patients,” said Radek Spisek, chief executive officer of SOTIO. “Martin Steegmaier’s extensive background and proven track record of discovering and developing therapeutic modalities in immuno-oncology provide SOTIO with exceptional expertise and leadership, and we look forward to his future contributions to SOTIO’s progress.”

Dr. Steegmaier commented, “SOTIO’s talented team of biopharmaceutical experts has demonstrated continued excellence in clinical development through the advancement of multiple clinical trials in 2022. I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead and support these efforts as well as those in the preclinic to help SOTIO reach its drug development objectives and work to improve treatment for some of the most intractable cancers in the world.”

Dr. Steegmaier has over 20 years of experience of drug development and discovery. Most recently, Dr. Steegmaier served as the Global Head of Research at MorphoSys following its acquisition of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led and integrated both research units into one global organization, pursuing cutting-edge immuno-oncology drug discovery approaches. His career began in positions with increasing responsibility, including advancing first-in-class oncology projects into the clinic with Boehringer Ingelheim’s Oncology Drug Discovery Department. He later joined Roche Pharmaceuticals as Head of Discovery for Large Molecule Research and led the generation and profiling of novel therapeutic antibodies for different disease areas, as well as design and discovery of novel biotherapeutic formats. He received a Bachelor of Science from Northern Arizona University, an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School (UK), a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Basel and he complemented his scientific training as a research fellow at Stanford University.

About SOTIO Biotech
SOTIO Biotech is shaping the future of cancer immunotherapies by translating compelling science into patient benefit. The robust SOTIO clinical pipeline includes a differentiated superagonist of the attractive immuno-oncology target IL-15, SOT101, currently being tested in phase II clinical trials. SOT102, a next generation Claudin18.2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) has recently entered the clinical phase. BOXR1030, a GPC3-targeted CAR-T based on proprietary technology designed to improve on the efficacy of CAR-T therapies in the tumor microenvironment, will enter the clinical phase in 2022. SOTIO is a member of the PPF Group. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.sotio.com.

SOTIO is a registered trademark of SOTIO Biotech a.s. in selected countries.