Pliant Therapeutics Appoints Oncology Veterans Flavia Borellini and Robert Iannone To Board

Pliant Therapeutics has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Flavia Borellini, Ph.D. and Robert Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E. to its Board of Directors. The appointments bring decades of experience in oncology drug development, clinical research, and commercialisation to the clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on integrin-based therapeutics.

Dr. Borellini brings more than 25 years of experience across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with expertise spanning targeted oncology therapies from early research through commercialization. She most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Acerta Pharma, where she oversaw the development and approval of Calquence® (acalabrutinib). During her time at AstraZeneca, she led the development, approval, and commercialization of Tagrisso® (osimertinib), while earlier roles at Genentech included leadership responsibilities for Zelboraf® (vemurafenib) as well as programs involving Herceptin® (trastuzumab) and Tarceva® (erlotinib).

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome Flavia and Robert, two accomplished biopharmaceutical leaders whose broad expertise in global oncology drug development will be of tremendous value to Pliant as we continue development of PLN-101095,” said Bernard Coulie, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Pliant. “Flavia, as a recognized leader in precision oncology, has led the global development, approval and launch of multiple oncology drugs including first-in-class therapeutics. Rob brings longstanding drug development and regulatory expertise, including the approval of several targeted and immuno-oncology medicines. The Board and I look forward to leveraging their extensive knowledge.”

Dr. Iannone joins the board with more than 20 years of executive leadership and clinical development experience. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, overseeing clinical operations and regulatory activities. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D at Immunomedics and held senior leadership roles at AstraZeneca, where he led immuno-oncology development efforts including work on Imfinzi® (durvalumab).

Earlier in his career, Dr. Iannone held leadership positions at Merck, where he contributed to the development of KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), one of the leading immunotherapy treatments in oncology. Beyond their new roles at Pliant, Dr. Borellini currently serves on the boards of Cantargia, Kartos Therapeutics, and Revolution Medicines, while Dr. Iannone serves on the board of Autolus Therapeutics.