Syndax Pharmaceuticals, a privately held oncology company based in Waltham, MA in the US, has announced that Briggs Morrison is joining the company as Chief Executive and a member of the Board of Directors.
Morrison was formerly Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer at AstraZeneca.
In addition, Michael Metzger is joining the company as President and Chief Operating Officer. Metzger comes to the company from Regado Biosciences, where he was President and Chief Executive through the company's merger with Tobira Therapeutics.
Dennis Podlesak, Chairman of the Syndax Board and Partner at Domain Associates, said: 'Briggs is a pre-eminent drug developer with an impressive track record of bringing cutting-edge medicines to patients and provides Syndax with the depth and vision to deliver on the promising data with entinostat. Michael comes to Syndax as an accomplished leader and builder of biotechnology companies and has a proven track record of success in creating value through business development and strategic financial transactions.'
As Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer at AstraZeneca from 2012 to 2015, Morrison led the company's global, late-stage development organisation and was a member of the AstraZeneca Senior Executive Team.
Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Morrison held a number of positions at Pfizer from 2007 to 2012 that culminated in his appointment as Head, Medical Affairs, Safety and Regulatory Affairs for Pfizer's human health business. He previously served in roles of increasing responsibility at Merck Research Laboratories from 1995 to 2007, where he was ultimately appointed to the role of Vice President, Clinical Sciences, Oncology, responsible for clinical development of all novel anti-cancer drugs.
Metzger brings extensive experience leading and growing companies in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to working at Regado Biosciences, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Mersana Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, from 2011 to 2013. He also held senior Business Development positions including leading Mergers and Acquisitions at Forest Laboratories, from 2006 to 2011.
Prior to Forest, Metzger was Vice President, Corporate Development at Onconova Therapeutics, from 2001 until 2006, and was a Managing Director at Mesa Partners, a venture capital firm, from 1997 to 2001.
