SAN MATEO, Calif. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kronos Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: KRON), a company dedicated to transforming the lives of those affected by cancer, today announced the appointment of veteran biopharmaceutical executive Marianne De Backer, Ph.D., to the company’s board of directors. She has more than two decades of experience in business development and commercial leadership in the healthcare industry. Additionally, the company announced that Rebecka Belldegrun, M.D., has resigned from the board to pursue other opportunities.

“On behalf of the board of directors and senior management team at Kronos Bio, I am pleased to welcome Marianne to the board. Her significant experience in forging and managing strategic partnerships coupled with her broad business and commercial acumen and strong science background will be valuable as the company continues to grow,” said Norbert Bischofberger, Ph.D., president and CEO. “I would also like to thank Rebecka for her dedicated service to Kronos Bio. She has provided expert guidance and made numerous contributions to the company since our founding, and we wish her well.”

Dr. De Backer has been a strategist, scientist, business leader, deal maker and corporate investor in the healthcare industry. She has been directly accountable for more than 200 strategic alliances in healthcare, some of which have led to newly approved medicines now available to patients. Dr. De Backer is currently chief business officer and executive vice president, Strategy and Business Development and Licensing, at Bayer AG, and a member of the Executive Committee of Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Before joining Bayer in 2019, she spent more than 20 years at the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. She started as a scientist and scientific group leader, during which time her work resulted in multiple patents. She progressed through commercial positions internationally, including leading a sales and marketing business unit responsible for several therapies, culminating as senior vice president, M&A Operations, Divestitures and Janssen Business Development.

“Kronos Bio is at an important juncture as it advances toward planned clinical testing of two investigational therapies that have the potential to transform treatment outcomes for patients with cancer,” said Dr. De Backer. “I look forward to helping guide the company as it grows and seeks to become the leader in targeting dysregulated transcription.”

Dr. De Backer holds an M.S. in molecular biology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, an M.S. in engineering and biochemistry and a Ph.D. in biotechnology from the University of Ghent, and an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University. She currently serves on the boards of directors of the Gladstone Foundation and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals. At Kronos Bio, she will serve as a member of the board of directors’ compensation committee.

About Kronos Bio, Inc.
Kronos Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing therapies that seek to transform the lives of those affected by cancer. The company focuses on targeting dysregulated transcription factors and the regulatory networks within cells that drive cancerous growth. Kronos Bio’s lead investigational therapy is entospletinib, a selective inhibitor targeting spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) in development for the frontline treatment of NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The company is also developing KB-0742, an oral inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), for the treatment of MYC-amplified solid tumors.

Kronos Bio is based in San Mateo, Calif., and has a research facility in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, visit www.kronosbio.com or follow the company on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The press release, in some cases, uses terms such as “advance toward,” “potential,” “seeks,” "expects," "planned," "should," or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Kronos Bio’s intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: Kronos Bio’s plans to begin a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of KB-0742 in patients with advanced solid tumors and the expected timing thereof; Kronos Bio’s plans to begin clinical testing of entospletinib and the expected timing thereof; and other statements that are not historical fact. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation: whether Kronos Bio will be able to initiate or complete the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of KB-0742 and the planned clinical trial of entospletinib on the timeline expected, if at all, including due to risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and risks inherent in the clinical development of novel therapeutics; risks related to Kronos Bio’s lack of experience as a company in conducting clinical trials; the risk that results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results; the risk that due to the relatively small number of patients that Kronos Bio plans to dose in the planned Phase 1/2 KB-0742 clinical trial, the results from the planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial, once completed, may be less reliable than results achieved in larger clinical trials, which may hinder Kronos Bio’s efforts to further develop and obtain regulatory approval for KB-0742; and risks associated with the sufficiency of Kronos Bio’s cash resources and need for additional capital. These and other risks are described in greater detail in Kronos Bio’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the heading “Risk Factors” in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, filed with the SEC on November 18, 2020. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date. Except as required by law, Kronos Bio assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Company contact:
Stephanie Yao
Executive Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
650-525-6605
syao@kronosbio.com

Investors:
Claudia Styslinger
Argot Partners
212-600-1902
kronosbio@argotpartners.com

Media:
Sheryl Seapy
W2O
949-903-4750
sseapy@purecommunications.com