Dirk Sauer, Ph.D. Joins Iconic Therapeutics' Board of Directors
20 Apr 2021
CollaborateAntibodyADC
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Iconic Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to translating an understanding of Tissue Factor (TF) biology to new therapeutics for cancer, retinal disease and inflammation, today announced that Dirk Sauer, Ph.D., former Novartis Pharma AG’s Global Development Unit Head, Ophthalmology, has joined the company’s Board of Directors, bringing the current board membership to seven individuals. Dr. Sauer has been an Observer on the Company’s Board of Directors since 2015, representing Novartis’s equity investment in, and collaborative partnership with, Iconic.
Currently an independent development expert for ophthalmology, Dr. Sauer recently retired from Novartis after having spent most of his career there, rising from post-doctoral fellow to Global Ophthalmology Unit Head. He brings to the Board extensive experience in Pharmaceutical Research and Development as well as comprehensive knowledge of ophthalmology drug development and the pharma ophthalmology landscape.
According to Chief Executive Officer William L Greene, M.D., “I cannot think of a more qualified and accomplished pharma leader to add to our Board. Dirk’s decision to deepen his involvement with Iconic by becoming a voting director reflects his ongoing commitment to bringing novel products to the ophthalmology arena as well as his endorsement of the innovative research done here. He is recognized as a strategic thinker who is data-driven and results oriented, and we look forward to his advice and counsel, which we expect will be immensely valuable as we chart the company’s strategic future.”
Dr. Sauer, based in Steinen, Germany, joined Novartis in 1989 as a postdoctoral fellow in the Neuroscience Preclinical Research Department. Over a period of more than 31 years, he successfully led numerous projects and teams during all phases of the drug development process. He has held positions of increasing responsibility within preclinical research, clinical research and project management working on acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases, ultimately leading to his joining the Ophthalmology Business Unit at Novartis as Senior Global Project Leader for Visudyne and Lucentis in 2005. For the last 10 years, he served as Global Development Head. Dr. Sauer has a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Münster, Germany, and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Marburg, Germany.
About Iconic Therapeutics
Iconic Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to leveraging its deep insight into tissue factor (TF) biology and TF’s role in inflammation, tumor growth, and angiogenesis to develop new therapeutics for serious diseases including retinal disease, inflammation and cancer. The Company has developed a portfolio of proprietary molecules which bind to and antagonize TF expressed in several disease states. In May, 2019, Iconic Therapeutics entered into a licensing agreement with Zymeworks that granted to Iconic non-exclusive rights to Zymeworks’ proprietary ZymeLink™ antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform. In November 2020, Iconic licensed to Exelixis its tissue factor-targeting antibody drug conjugate ahead of a planned Investigational New Drug Application filing by Exelixis. Please visit for additional information.
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