BOSTON, March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pyxis Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: “PYXS”), a clinical stage company focused on developing next generation therapeutics to target difficult-to-treat cancers, today announced the appointment of Santhosh Palani, Ph.D., CFA, to its board of directors, effective March 12, 2024.

“We are thrilled to have Santhosh join the Pyxis Oncology board. Santhosh brings a wealth of business, investment, strategic, and board experience to our team,” said Lara S. Sullivan, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Pyxis Oncology. “Santhosh’s guidance, drawing from his experience working across the biopharma industry, will be invaluable as we continue clinical development of our lead asset, PYX-201, a first-in-class and first-in-concept tumor stroma targeting ADC against EDB-fibronectin. His background is highly complementary with those of our other Board members, and I look forward to beginning our work together to drive Pyxis Oncology’s future growth.”

Dr. Palani is a seasoned leader and entrepreneur with over a decade of strategic expertise and drug development experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Palani is a former investment partner and a current advisory partner at PFM Health Sciences, a leading healthcare investment advisory firm. Prior to joining PFM, Dr. Palani was a Principal at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Prior to NEA, he was a Vice President of Biotechnology Equity Research at Cowen and Company. Dr. Palani began his career in oncology drug development at Pfizer Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. He received his Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his postdoctoral work in biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University. He also holds an M.S. in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Madras, India. Dr. Palani is a CFA^® Charterholder.

"I am delighted to join the Board of Directors at Pyxis Oncology at such a pivotal moment in the Company's journey as they anticipate data readouts for their lead ADC program, PYX-201, and their IO program, PYX-106, in 2024," said Dr. Santhosh Palani. "I look forward to collaborating with Lara, the board, and the leadership team to advance a promising pipeline that could impact patients and deliver value to our shareholders."

About Pyxis Oncology, Inc.

Pyxis Oncology, Inc. is a clinical stage company focused on defeating difficult-to-treat cancers. The company is efficiently building next generation therapeutics that hold the potential for mono and combination therapies. PYX-201, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that uniquely targets EDB+FN within the tumor stroma, and PYX-106, a fully human Siglec-15-targeting antibody designed to block suppression of T-cell proliferation and function, are being evaluated in ongoing Phase 1 clinical studies in multiple types of solid tumors. Pyxis Oncology’s therapeutic candidates are designed to directly kill tumor cells and to address the underlying pathologies created by cancer that enable its uncontrollable proliferation and immune evasion. Pyxis Oncology’s ADC and immuno-oncology (IO) programs employ novel and emerging strategies to target a broad range of solid tumors resistant to current standards of care. To learn more, visit www.pyxisoncology.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.