Rgenix appoints Roger Waltzman as chief medical officer

Privately-held oncology specialist Rgenix have announced the appointment of Roger Waltzman as chief medical officer.

Dr Waltzman served in various executive roles at Novartis (NOVN: VX) for nearly a decade. In his most recent role at the Swiss pharma giant he was the global development head for anti-malarials, where he continued Phase II development of two novel candidates.

Prior to joining Rgenix, he was with Californian biotech Napo Pharmaceuticals where he served as chief scientific officer and chief medical officer, leading the development of anti-diarrheals.

At Rgenix he will oversee clinical development, including clinical trial design and the new drug application process with regulators.

Chief executive Masoud Tavazoie said: “Dr Waltzman has an extraordinary background in oncology, which is our focus at Rgenix, and his expertise will be crucial as we progress with the clinical development of our lead therapy, RGX-104, and our other drug candidates in development.”

“Rgenix has innovation at its core, and I’m pleased to be joining an organization that is looking to fill a gap in oncology that could benefit hundreds of thousands of patients. I look forward to collaborating with the Rgenix team on its therapies and clinical developments as it looks to drive positive change in the industry,” said Dr Waltzman.