This site uses cookies to bring you the best experience. Find out more
Skip to main content

News

OxSonics strengthens management team with hire of Dr Marianna Lalla as Chief Medical Officer

OxSonics strengthens management team with appointment of Dr Marianna Lalla as Chief Medical Officer

Underpins Company’s strategy to expand its pipeline of clinical combination studies

Oxford, UK – 6th June 2022 – OxSonics Therapeutics, a world leader in the development of ultrasound-based drug delivery systems for the treatment of cancer, is pleased to announce that Dr Marianna Lalla has joined the Company as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Marianna is a well-respected physician with significant experience in leading clinical trials.

Marianna will head the Company’s clinical development function to drive the clinical development of SonoTran® in combination with multiple anti-cancer therapies. Her appointment reflects OxSonics’ transition to a clinical-stage company, and its strategy to further expand its pipeline of clinical combination studies. In January 2021, the first patient was dosed in a first-in-human clinical investigation evaluating the Company’s proprietary SonoTran® Platform in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Marianna brings over 20 years of experience as a physician, both as a clinical investigator and clinical lead for numerous early and late-stage clinical studies for the pharmaceutical industry. She joins OxSonics from UCB, where she was the Global Clinical Development lead in Translational Medicine, responsible for the development of multiple early clinical-stage products. Marianna’s prior experience as a surgeon brings a deep knowledge and understanding of the development and use of medical devices in the clinic.

Glyn Edwards, Interim CEO, OxSonics, commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Marianna to the executive team as Chief Medical Officer. This is a transformational time for OxSonics as we look to expand the clinical use of SonoTran® in combination with different anti-cancer agents from current and future partnerships. Marianna brings a wealth of experience in designing and delivering early-phase clinical trials and insights spanning both medical devices and pharmaceutical development that will be invaluable as we continue to execute our clinical strategy.”

Dr Marianna Lalla, CMO, OxSonics, commented: “I’m excited to join OxSonics as it starts to generate data from the ongoing first-in-man clinical trial and I look forward to the forthcoming initiation of further SonoTran® combination clinical studies. There is a desperate need for new technologies to address the performance limitations of current drugs and I believe SonoTran® has the potential to overcome one of the major challenges in treating solid cancers – getting more anti-cancer therapy into the tumour tissue. Its unique mechanism of action will be of great interest to potential partners looking to increase the efficacy and therapeutic index of their candidates.”

-ENDS – About OxSonics Therapeutics OxSonics® Therapeutics’ proprietary platform technology, SonoTran®, is being developed to provide a step-change in the therapeutic index of anti-cancer agents without the development costs or delays associated with drug reformulation. SonoTran® is designed to increase the dose and distribution of anti-cancer agents within solid tumours, thereby increasing the efficacy and/or reducing the toxicity of these agents across the majority of the most challenging solid tumour cancers. The approach has been specifically designed to fit seamlessly into existing oncology clinical workflows, and has the major advantage of enabling healthcare professionals to see-as-they-treat by providing visualisation on-screen and in real time. The SonoTran® drug delivery platform is based on ground-breaking technological advances, originally invented at the University of Oxford’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering.

OxSonics is based in Oxford in the UK. For more information please visit: www.oxsonics.com

Enquiries OxSonics Therapeutics Nicholas Adams, Chief Business Officer +44 (0)7712 448578 nicholas.adams@oxsonics.com

Media Enquiries Walbrook PR (PR advisors to OxSonics) OxSonics@walbrookpr.com Stephanie Cuthbert/ Phillip Marriage +44 (0)7796 794 663

Read other news articles



Get In Touch

Share this