Xencor appoints Kurt Gustafson to board of directors and promotes John Desjarlais to chief scientific officer

US-based clinical-stage biopharma company Xencor (Nasdaq: XNCR) has announced the appointment of Kurt Gustafson to its board of directors. He will also serve as chair of the audit and compensation committees for the company which develops engineer monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases, and cancer.

Bassil Dahiyat, president and chief executive of Xencor, said: "Kurt brings a tremendous amount of experience and a fresh perspective to the board as we grow our company and expand our drug development efforts. His expertise in biotechnology and finance will be of particular value as we advance our drug development programs and evaluate additional opportunities for partnering and licensing our technology."

Mr Gustafson has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, and is coming to Xencor from being executive vice president, chief financial officer and principal accounting officer at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this he held positions at Amgen and Halozyme Therapeutics.