Every month, MassBio spotlights a member company and the great work they’re doing to advance the life sciences industry and support the patients we serve. In February, we spoke with Patricia S. Andrews, CEO of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Oncology (SDP). Prior to joining SDP Oncology, Ms. Andrews spent 7 years at Boston Biomedical, Inc., one of the predecessor companies, serving as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Andrews was formerly the Chief Commercial Officer at Incyte and was the Vice President, General Manager of Pfizer’s US Oncology Business unit. Ms. Andrews received her M.B.A. from the University of Michigan and her B.A. from Brown University.
Tell us about your organization, its mission, and current initiatives.
SDP Oncology’s mission is to advance purposeful science by transforming new discoveries into meaningful treatment options for patients with cancer. We relentlessly explore novel and unique approaches to address unmet needs in oncology research and development. We approach discovery with an entrepreneurial spirit and choose to pursue targets based on where we believe the science will take us in the next decade, not just a few years from now. Our clinical research and development spans multiple areas, including oncogenic survival mechanisms and immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine optimization. Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Oncology, Inc. (SDP Oncology) is based in the U.S. and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.
How do your organization’s activities help patients now and into the future?
At SDP Oncology, we are focused on advancing meaningful therapeutic options for patients with cancer. This is at the center of and the motivation for everything we do. Our continued efforts, from research, to executing clinical trials, to sharing and presenting clinical data, support our mission to bring new treatments to patients with cancer. As part of this commitment, we aim to make a significant difference in the lives of patients and the community by partnering with leading advocacy and community groups that provide support to individuals and families impacted by the disease. We are excited about the potential the investigational assets in our pipeline hold to make new treatments available for patients with cancer in the future.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the life sciences industry today?
Technology, global regulatory guidance and the competitive environment are constantly evolving meanwhile the pace of advancement in drug discovery and development is comparatively a slower process so there is always the possibility of being superseded. Given that, we pursue a diverse approach to drug development and seek to identify opportunities to develop therapies across multiple disease states through varying mechanisms and technologies.
What’s next for your organization / what are you focused on in the coming year?
Through our scientific persistence, we are focused on advancing our diverse and purposeful pipeline. We currently have a pipeline of 9 clinical stage assets in several ongoing clinical trials. SDP Oncology benefits from close partnerships in our Cambridge, Massachusetts offices with our labs in Osaka, Japan and Lehi, Utah to explore new modalities and new target areas both separately and collaboratively, when beneficial. This global model enables 24/7 advancement of innovative ideas while sourcing from diverse experiences and perspectives.
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