Dr. Aftab has served for over 25 years at Exelixis and has been instrumental in driving the company’s scientific innovation and development activities
Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) today announced it has appointed Dana T. Aftab, Ph.D., as its Executive Vice President, Research and Development. In this new role, Dr. Aftab will oversee all aspects of the company’s drug discovery, translational research, product development and medical affairs activities.
“Dana has been an integral part of the Exelixis team for more than 25 years, with deep expertise that spans the drug discovery and development continuum. He’s been a key contributor to many of Exelixis’ most important milestones, including the discovery, development and introduction of cabozantinib, which he and the broader Exelixis team grew from an initial orphan drug indication into a global oncology franchise,” said Michael M. Morrissey, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Exelixis. “Dana is an excellent choice to lead Exelixis’ wide-ranging product development organization as the team maximizes the opportunities for our portfolio, which in addition to cabozantinib includes zanzalintinib, our third-generation oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is the subject of multiple pivotal trials, as well as our earlier stage pipeline of promising small molecules and biotherapeutics.”
Dr. Aftab joined Exelixis in 1998, and since then has played a key role in the discovery and development of the company’s flagship medicine, CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), which is currently the leading tyrosine kinase inhibitor in the U.S. for both the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and advanced neuroendocrine tumors. During his tenure at Exelixis, Dr. Aftab held diverse roles across the company’s research and development organizations, and most recently served as Executive Vice President, Discovery and Translational Research and Chief Scientific Officer since December 2022. In that role he has overseen the development of the company’s early pipeline, as well as of the translational medicine and clinical pharmacology teams supporting work streams across the spectrum of discovery research and product development. Dr. Aftab holds a Ph.D. degree in pharmacology from Yale University and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley in the field of oncogene signaling.
Amy Peterson, M.D., who served as Executive Vice President, Product Development & Medical Affairs, and Chief Medical Officer since August 2023 has departed Exelixis.
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