Pyxis Oncology Appoints Martina Molsbergen as Interim Chief Business Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pyxis Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: PYXS) today announced the appointment of Martina Molsbergen as Interim Chief Business Officer. Ms. Molsbergen will be responsible for managing the Company’s current partnerships and joint ventures as well as exploring new business development opportunities.

“We are thrilled to welcome Martina to the Pyxis team as interim chief business officer,” said Lara Sullivan, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Pyxis. “Her proven track record of leading and executing successful corporate and business development strategies within both large and small companies has yielded over 450 deals to date. Martina will serve as a key member of our executive leadership team as we advance our development portfolio with the potential to significantly benefit the lives of patients battling difficult to treat cancers.”

Ms. Molsbergen added, “Joining Pyxis at this moment in time is monumental. As a newly public company with over $300 million raised in 2021, Pyxis is strongly positioned to advance its current pipeline into clinical trials and, at the same time, aims to unlock significant value from a robust business development strategy. I am excited to be leading these strategic initiatives and look forward to continuing to marry organic growth with strategic partnerships and collaborations as we advance our multi-asset multi-platform portfolio.”

Ms. Molsbergen brings 30 years of business development, marketing and entrepreneurial experience in areas with cutting-edge tools, technologies and products, including biotherapeutics, immunotherapies and regenerative medicine. Prior to joining Pyxis, she was Chief Executive Officer of C14 Consulting Group, a premier provider of strategic business strategy, licensing and deal negotiation serving life sciences companies. Ms. Molsbergen has held senior leadership business development roles for several biotech companies. As Vice President of Business Development of Crucell Holland BV, she managed the company’s joint venture with DSM Biologics. Earlier, as Vice President of Business Development of Biowa, Inc., she negotiated more than 15 deals valued at over $2.5 billion. Prior to Biowa, she served as Vice President of Business Development of Zetiq Technologies Ltd. and Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development Services & Business Development of Patheon Inc.

Ms. Molsbergen sits on the Board of Directors of Score Pharmaceuticals, a novel antibody platform technology start-up, and OCMS Bio, Inc., an antibody tool company, of Bio-Path Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded company focused on RNAi antisense drug development, and of Blue Sky Surgical, a non-profit charity that provides free surgeries in underserved areas of Haiti. In 2018, she launched her own public charity, The C14 Foundation, dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor by cultivating sustainable solutions for meeting the basic needs of food, water, good health and shelter. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University.

About Pyxis Oncology, Inc.
Pyxis Oncology, Inc. is a preclinical oncology company focused on developing an arsenal of next-generation therapeutics to target difficult-to-treat cancers and improve quality of life for patients. Pyxis develops its product candidates with the objective to directly kill tumor cells, and to address the underlying pathologies created by cancer that enable its uncontrollable proliferation and immune evasion. Since its launch in 2019, Pyxis has developed a broad portfolio of novel antibody drug conjugate, or ADC, product candidates, and monoclonal antibody, or mAb, preclinical discovery programs that it is developing as monotherapies and in combination with other therapies. To learn more about Pyxis visit www.pyxisoncology.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These statements are often identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “aim,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “objective,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “to be,” “will,” “would,” or the negative or plural of these words, or similar expressions or variations, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. We cannot assure you that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified herein, and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” set forth in Part II, Item 1A. of the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our other filings with the SEC. These risks are not exhaustive. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this press release, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Contacts:
Courtney Dugan
Vice President, Head of Investor Relations and Communications
ir@pyxisoncology.com

Ashley Robinson
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
arr@lifesciadvisors.com

Jason Braco, Ph.D.
LifeSci Communications
jbraco@lifescicomms.com