Two Senior Leaders Bring Strong Diagnostics and Commercial Oncology Expertise as Company Prepares for Market Launch of its AI-Powered PROphet® Platform
OncoHost, a global leader in precision oncology for improved personalized cancer therapy, today announced two appointments to its executive team. Seasoned healthcare executive James "Jim" Whelan joins OncoHost's board of directors and commercial oncology expert Chris Dingman joins as chief commercial officer.
The announcement comes as OncoHost prepares for the imminent launch of PROphet®, the company's diagnostic platform that provides a first-of-its-kind proteomics-based decision support tool for patients with advanced cancer being treated with immunotherapy. The first test to be rolled out is for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A peer-reviewed article recently published in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer highlights the success of PROphet® in predicting response and analyzing treatment resistance mechanisms in NSCLC patients.
"Cancer treatment is dynamic, and protocols must evolve beyond the current standards," said Jim Whelan. "OncoHost's unique approach, which combines a holistic view on the interplay between the tumor, the patient, and the therapy, provides clinicians with accurate response trajectory for the first 12 months of treatment. It gives clinicians an understanding of the biological processes and potential treatment strategies and represents an exciting advancement for precision oncology. I look forward to working with OncoHost, a company making a real difference in cancer care."
Whelan brings over 40 years of experience in healthcare diagnostics and medical and research distribution. He previously served as senior vice president of Managed Care for LabCorp, one of the largest clinical laboratory networks, from 2013 to 2021. He was responsible for LabCorp's largest customer segment generating billions in annual revenue. Prior to that, Whelan served in leadership roles at bioMérieux, Magellan Biosciences and Fisher Scientific (ThermoFisher).
"The ability to predict treatment outcomes based on a revolutionary blood test is tremendously exciting," said Chris Dingman. "OncoHost's use of advanced proteomic analysis and AI-based host response science creates unique opportunities for truly effective and personalized treatment. I am delighted to join OncoHost at this exciting point in the company's journey and look forward to helping guide its significant expansion in the US."
Dingman joins OncoHost after serving as area director of the Western United States and CancerTYPE ID commercial lead at Biotheranostics, a Hologic company. He has a proven track record of growing revenue and exceeding growth expectations in oncology molecular diagnostics and the pharmaceutical industry, and previously held positions at Life Technologies, Caris, Merck Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi.
"Jim's vast knowledge and deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the diagnostics services industry, together with Chris' oncology market experience, will help us achieve our goal of bringing our groundbreaking technology to clinicians and patients," said Dr. Ofer Sharon, CEO of OncoHost. "We are proud to have Jim and Chris join OncoHost and look forward to working with them as we launch our first product and continue developing our pipeline."
"I want to extend a warm welcome to Jim and Chris as we continue our next phase of advancement," added Steven M. Gottlieb, M.D, physician executive and chairman of OncoHost's board. "Their invaluable diagnostics oncology knowledge and market experience will be a significant asset to the company."
Source: OncoHost
