PALO ALTO, Calif.– Pheast Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company developing novel innate immune checkpoint inhibitors to unleash the power of macrophages on aggressive, difficult-to-treat cancers, today announced the appointment of Raphaël Rousseau, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Rousseau brings more than 25 years of experience in oncology drug development and leadership, with extensive experience developing therapeutic antibodies, cancer vaccines, engineered T cell therapies, and small molecule inhibitors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Raphaël to the Pheast team at this crucial juncture as we advance our lead drug candidate, PHST001, into clinical trials,” said Roy Maute, Ph.D., Cofounder and CEO of Pheast Therapeutics. “Raphaël’s deep expertise in oncology drug development, his track record of building high-performing teams, and his passion for improving patient’s lives make him an ideal leader for our clinical organization.”
“I am honored to join Pheast at such an exciting time in its journey to develop innovative immunotherapies that defy cancer and help patients thrive,” said Dr. Rousseau. “The Pheast team thoughtfully engineered PHST001 and has demonstrated robust activity across tumor types and a favorable safety profile in preclinical studies. I look forward to working closely with the team to further build the clinical development organization and demonstrate the clinical potential of PHST001 to be a truly groundbreaking therapy with broad efficacy across CD24+ cancers.”
Since 2017, Dr. Rousseau has served as CMO at Gritstone Bio, Neogene Therapeutics, and Day One Biopharmaceuticals, where he was instrumental in building clinical teams and executing global development strategies from first-in-human to phase 3 registrational clinical trials in adult and pediatric oncology indications. Before 2017, Dr. Rousseau had increased responsibilities and ultimately served as the global franchise head of pediatrics at Genentech and Roche.
Prior to his roles in pharma and biotech, Dr. Rousseau was a tenured professor of medical and pediatric oncology at the Université Claude Bernard and Léon Bérard Comprehensive Cancer Center in Lyon, France, where he founded and led a European academic consortium evaluating CD19 CAR T cells for children with high-risk leukemias. He completed his fellowship at the Texas Children’s Cancer Center and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy in Houston, Texas. Dr. Rousseau holds a Ph.D. in Therapeutic Biotechnologies from Université Denis Diderot and an M.D. from Université René Descartes in Paris, France.
