By Alois Vinga
A US-based clinical-stage Biopharmaceutical Company, Onconova Therapeutics, Inc has appointed Dr Victor Moyo to the position of chief medical officer.
He becomes one of the many top professionals lifting the country’s flag to dizzy heights in the international community.
The firm which is focused on discovering and developing novel products for patients with cancer announced the move is in line with the broad strategic drive.
Dr. Moyo is a highly experienced physician researcher and drug developer, with extensive clinical research pharmaceutical industry experience. He has held a variety of senior leadership positions with responsibility for a number of clinical development plans, IND filings, NDA filings, and post-market development plans, notably including his work on such programs as Onivyde® for metastatic pancreatic cancer, epoetin alpha trial in myelodysplastic syndrome, and the Doxil® trial in advanced ovarian cancer.
Dr. Steven Fruchtman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Onconova Therapeutics, Inc expressed confidence in Moyo’s competencies.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Moyo as an integral member of our team at Onconova as we prepare to enter the next phase of development for narazaciclib and rigosertib, our novel and proprietary cell pathway inhibitors for oncology.
“I believe Victor’s extensive track record as a clinical researcher and drug developer in oncology and Meena’s unique medical affairs expertise in rare diseases and oncology will be instrumental to the Company’s success as we advance the clinical plan and regulatory strategy for each program,” he said.
Dr Moyo is also a named inventor on numerous granted patents and patent applications.
He joined Onconova as a Consulting Chief Medical Officer in August 2023. He has also held various leadership roles as Vice President of Clinical Investigations at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and the Centocor Ortho Biotech Services, LLC division of Johnson & Johnson.
Dr. Moyo earned his M.D. from the University of Zimbabwe and following his move to the U.S., he went on to complete his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences and his fellowship in Haematology and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Accepting the new role, Moyo said he was very pleased to be named as Onconova’s Chief Medical Officer and revealed that working with the team over the last quarter has given him the opportunity to appreciate the potential for Onconova’s product pipeline, especially the excellent work that the Company has done differentiating narazaciclib from other CDK4/6 inhibitors.
“I believe narazaciclib holds the promise of prolonging progression in patients with endometrial and other gynecological cancers as well as hematologic malignancies in indications where there is still an unmet medical need.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues at Onconova and our clinical collaborators to contribute to our mission of bringing narazaciclib and rigosertib to patients with cancer,” he added.
