Jasper Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: JSPR) (Jasper), a biotechnology company focused on development of briquilimab, a novel antibody therapy targeting c-Kit (CD117) to address diseases such as chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), lower to intermediate risk myelodysplastic syndromes (LR-MDS) as well as novel stem cell transplant conditioning regimes, today announced the appointment of Dr. Edwin J. Tucker as Jasper’s Chief Medical Officer. Concurrently, Jasper also announced the appointment of Dr. Daniel Adelman, who had been serving as Jasper’s Acting Chief Medical Officer, to its Scientific Advisory Board and to the position of Senior Clinical Advisor.
“With our clinical program for briquilimab expanding beyond stem cell transplant conditioning into chronic treatment indications such as CSU and LR-MDS, we are thrilled to welcome Edwin to the Jasper leadership team,” said Ron Martell, CEO of Jasper. “Edwin brings an extraordinary depth of clinical and industry experience and a proven track record of leading programs to successful new drug approvals. We look forward to his leadership and contributions as we advance briquilimab toward our next clinical milestones. We are also pleased that we will continue to benefit from Dan Adelman’s guidance in his role on our Scientific Advisory Board as well as our Senior Clinical Advisor for mast cell disease and CSU programs.”
“I am excited to be joining the Jasper team during such an important period in the Company’s development,” said Dr. Tucker. “The data derived to date point to the therapeutic potential of briquilimab in chronic mast cell diseases such as urticaria and myelodysplastic syndromes, as well as to its potential as a conditioning agent. Ron and his team have also built a strong organization well-positioned to realize the potential of this asset, and I look forward to contributing my expertise as we advance briquilimab to its next phase of development.”
“I am pleased to join everyone at Jasper in welcoming Edwin as Chief Medical Officer, and look forward to working with him to develop briquilimab,” said Dr. Adelman. “Given briquilimab’s unique mechanism of action, I share his passion for the promise this asset has in multiple disease states, and am excited about the well-designed programs Jasper has defined to realize its potential.”
Dr. Tucker has over 30 years of clinical experience leading novel drug development. He was most recently Chief Medical Officer at Goldfinch Bio, where he led clinical development and helped build the regulatory, medical affairs and clinical operations functions. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Mirum Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to the achievement of key milestones in the development of medicines for adult and pediatric cholestatic liver disease, including the first FDA approval for the treatment of Alagille Syndrome. Prior to joining Mirum, Dr. Tucker held roles of increasing responsibility at Acerta Pharma LLC, now part of the AstraZeneca family of companies, ultimately serving as Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure at Acerta, Dr. Tucker helped create and build the medical safety, quality, compliance and clinical development groups. Prior to joining Acerta, he held leadership positions in development, medical safety and medical affairs at Genentech, Janssen Research and Development and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Tucker is a member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), and received his M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Tucker holds degrees in Pharmacology and Medicine from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Additionally, he serves as a managing director at Golden Seeds, an investment firm dedicated to pursuing early-stage investment opportunities in women-led businesses.
Dr. Adelman has held several leadership roles within the biopharma industry throughout his career, including Chief Medical Officer at Aimmune Therapeutics, Alvine Pharmaceuticals and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals. Previously Dr. Adelman served as Vice President of Clinical Operations and Biometrics at Pharmacyclics, and as a Clinical Scientist at Genentech where he was involved in the early development of omalizumab and bevacizumab. Dr. Adelman has also led the development of other therapies for celiac disease and food allergy. He began his career as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, where he was also Director of Clinical Allergy and Immunology. He is also currently an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at UCSF, where he has taught and practiced at for more than 34 years, remaining on the faculty upon entering industry. He has also served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Immunology and Clinical Immunology, and as a clinical advisor to multiple biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Adelman holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned his M.D. from the University of California, Davis.