MENLO PARK, Calif.– Summit Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMT) (“Summit,” “we,” or the “Company”) today announced that Manmeet S. Soni has been appointed as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Soni will remain a member of the Company’s Board of Directors.
“Manmeet Soni has few peers in this industry, and his track record speaks for itself,” stated Dr. Maky Zanganeh, Chief Executive Officer and President of Summit. “With our focus on bringing to life our mission to improve the quality and potential duration of lives of patients facing serious unmet medical needs via our investigational novel bispecific antibody, ivonescimab,* we are thrilled to add an accomplished, world-class biopharmaceutical executive to our leadership team. Manmeet will bring substantial value to our organization as we engage in our next steps, including the continued expansion of our organization and the potential commercialization of ivonescimab.”
“Manmeet provides excellent stewardship and guidance as a member of our Board, but we are incredibly excited that he has now decided to join us as a member of our executive team,” added Robert W. Duggan, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Leveraging his leadership and wisdom on a daily basis is a powerful addition to the already formidable Team Summit. I am grateful for the trust he has displayed in Maky, me, and our team in joining our mission full-time.”
Mr. Soni has over 20 years of financial and operational leadership experience and joins Summit from Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was President, Chief Operating Officer, & Chief Financial Officer. His tenure at Reata culminated in its sale to Biogen Inc. for $7.5 billion. Prior to joining Reata, Mr. Soni was the CFO at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He was also the CFO at Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was purchased by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for $5.4 billion in 2017. Mr. Soni was the CFO at Pharmacyclics, Inc., which, along with the leadership of Mr. Duggan and Dr. Zanganeh, was sold to AbbVie Inc. for $21 billion in 2015. He serves on the Board of Directors of Pulse Biosciences, Inc. and was previously a board member at Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was later sold to Pfizer Inc. for $6.7 billion. Mr. Soni has led an array of functions including finance, manufacturing, various strategic functions including ex-US commercial strategy and business development, as well as quality, risk, and program management, amongst others. Throughout his leadership career, he has raised over $7 billion through a variety of financing and business development deals.
“Joining Team Summit represents a transformational opportunity to make a material difference for the better, and to improve the lives of cancer patients who face significant challenges,” added Mr. Soni. “I am passionate about the mission and goals of Summit: prioritizing the patient to bring about new advancements in oncology with patient, physician, caregiver, and societal-friendly medicines. I am honored to get to work more closely with this exceptional team as we seek to positively impact the outlook for patients with therapies that improve both quality and duration of life.”
In conjunction with his appointment as COO, Mr. Soni is also purchasing shares of the Company worth $5 million via a private placement. In his role as COO, Mr. Soni will be responsible for all commercial activities, finance, manufacturing, legal, information technology, and human resources.
