BRIEF—Bantam Pharmaceutical appoints new CEO

New York-based drug discovery firm Bantam Pharmaceutical has appointed Michael Stocum as president and chief executive, replacing founding CEO Mike Luther, who will remain as an advisor to the executive team.

Mr Stocum joined Bantam in late 2019 as chief business officer, and has held corporate roles of increasing responsibility in pharmaceuticals, molecular diagnostics, and biotech startups, including at GlaxoSmithKline.

The firm’s lead candidate is BTM-3566, a novel selective modulator of mitochondrial dynamics.

The company plans to expand into other cancer types based on biomarker-stratified patient responses in early phase studies.