SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – September 16, 2024 – Circle Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing cell-permeable macrocycles as a new class of therapies, today announced two executive appointments as it continues to advance its MXMO macrocycle discovery platform and its oncology pipeline. Marie Evangelista, Ph.D., has been appointed Senior Vice President and Head of Cancer Biology, while Constantine Kreatsoulas, Ph.D., has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Head of Discovery Technology Sciences. These appointments align with Circle’s investments in its pipeline of macrocycle therapies, including its lead program, CID-078, currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in solid tumors.
“These two senior executive appointments deepen Circle’s drug discovery expertise and scientific leadership” said David J. Earp, JD, Ph.D., Circle’s president and CEO. “With Circle’s first oral macrocycle, CID-078, now in the clinic, we are keen to deploy our MXMO platform against a wide range of new targets as we drive to expand our pipeline. I look forward to working closely with Marie and Constantine as they lead our discovery teams to bring more first-in-class medicines to the clinic.”
Dr. Evangelista has more than 18 years of experience in translational oncology and small molecule drug discovery, having successfully led programs from early discovery to clinical development. Prior to joining Circle, she spent 15 years at Genentech where her leadership was instrumental in advancing Genentech’s KRAS-targeting programs. Following Genentech, Dr. Evangelista held senior leadership roles at Frontier Medicines and most recently at Recursion. Dr. Evangelista holds a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.
“I’m excited to join Circle at this important juncture, where its innovative macrocycle platform is translating into clinical progress,” said Dr. Evangelista. “I look forward to contributing to the development of transformative therapies for patients.”
Dr. Kreatsoulas has played a pivotal role at Circle Pharma since joining in 2021, overseeing the development of the MXMO platform and contributing to the advancement of CID-078 into the clinic. Before joining Circle Pharma, he held leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Merck & Co., and Bristol-Myers Squibb, with expertise in molecular design, machine learning, and computational toxicology. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University and a master’s degree in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance from Temple University.
“Being a part of Circle’s evolution to a clinical-stage company has been incredibly rewarding,” said Dr. Kreatsoulas. “I am very excited to step into the role of Head of Discovery Technology Sciences as we continue to advance our ground-breaking macrocycle technologies.”
About Circle Pharma, Inc.
South San Francisco-based Circle Pharma is advancing the discovery and development of intrinsically cell-permeable macrocycles that can be delivered by multiple routes, including oral administration. Circle Pharma’s MXMO™ platform combines structure-based rational drug design and advanced synthetic chemistry to develop a new generation of macrocycle therapies for challenging targets to address unmet clinical needs. Circle Pharma is focusing its development efforts on cyclins, which are master regulators of the machinery that controls the progression of cells through the cell cycle and are key drivers in many cancers. The company’s lead candidate, CID-078, is currently in clinical trials as part of a growing pipeline of novel macrocycle therapeutics.
To learn more about Circle Pharma, please visit www.circlepharma.com.
Media Contact:
Roslyn Patterson
Director of Corporate Communications
Phone: 650.825.4099
Email: roslyn.patterson@circlepharma.com
