Elucida Oncology Appoints Ramzi Benamar as Chief Financial Officer

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., Aug. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Elucida Oncology, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the next frontier in targeted cancer therapy, announced today that Ramzi Benamar, a seasoned financial leader with a proven track record in the life sciences industry, has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer, effective September 1, 2023.

“We are very excited to welcome Ramzi to our management team at this pivotal phase of Elucida’s growth and development. With the promising early clinical data emerging from our proprietary CDC platform technology, Ramzi’s extensive experience in corporate finance, strategy and operations, as well as his track record of financing clinical-stage biotech companies will be critical as we continue down our path to exceed current standards in targeted cancer therapy,” stated Geno Germano, CEO and President of Elucida Oncology.

Prior to Elucida, Mr. Benamar was the Chief Financial Officer of BELLUS Health, a clinical-stage biotech company that was recently acquired by GSK PLC for $2 billion. He was instrumental in strengthening the company’s balance sheet by raising ~$400 million overall and contributed to the development and execution of the corporate strategy. Prior to BELLUS Health, he was Chief Financial Officer of DBV Technologies, where he led the global finance team and raised over $160 million. Previously, he was Vice President and Head of Financial Planning and Analysis for Spark Therapeutics until its acquisition by Roche Holdings. Earlier in his career, Mr. Benamar held numerous positions of increasing responsibilities in finance and operations at various pharma companies including Shire, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck.

He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration from Temple University, and a master’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia).

“I am thrilled to be joining Elucida and excited about the potential to deliver transformative therapies to cancer patients through its proprietary C’Dot-drug-conjugate platform. The progress made by the Elucida team is impressive and I am encouraged by the promising early data from ELU001, the lead CDC targeting folate-receptor alpha (FRα). I look forward to becoming part of the Elucida team and contributing to further advance the CDC platform,” commented Ramzi Benamar.

About Elucida Oncology

Elucida Oncology, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the next frontier in targeted cancer therapy with its first-in-class, ultra-small nanoparticle C’Dot drug conjugate (CDC) platform. CDCs are designed to penetrate deeper into tumors and deliver a significantly higher payload compared to antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). This combined with greater avidity for the target antigen, longer retention in tumors with minimal systemic exposure due to rapid renal clearance confers CDCs unique Target or Clear® properties. In preclinical studies, this has resulted in enhanced efficacy irrespective of antigen expression levels with reduced off-target toxicity, thereby potentially addressing the limitations of ADCs and other novel drug carriers. For more information on Elucida Oncology, Inc., please visit www.elucidaoncology.com.

Released August 24, 2023