Kura Oncology (KURA) Appoints Michael Vasconcelles to its Board

Kura Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of Michael Vasconcelles, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Vasconcelles is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with more than 25 years of oncology drug development experience and industry leadership.

“On behalf of our Board and leadership team, we are delighted to have Mike join our Board of Directors,” said Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Kura Oncology. “His extensive experience in R&D and regulatory affairs, combined with his leadership across both large and emerging companies, will be invaluable as we advance our menin inhibitor and farnesyl transferase inhibitor (FTI) programs for cancer patients in need.”

Dr. Vasconcelles currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the Life Sciences team at Frazier Healthcare Partners. Previously, he was Executive Vice President & Head of Research, Development, and Medical Affairs at ImmunoGen. Prior to ImmunoGen, he was the Chief Medical Officer and Head of the Medical and Scientific Organization at Flatiron Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Roche Group. Before that, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Unum Therapeutics. Prior to joining Unum, Dr. Vasconcelles spent several years at Takeda/Millennium as Senior Vice President and Head of the Oncology Therapy Area unit. Prior to Takeda/Millennium, he was Group Vice President and the Global Therapeutic Area Head of Transplant and Oncology at Genzyme Corporation. After Sanofi’s acquisition of Genzyme, Dr. Vasconcelles joined Sanofi Oncology as Head of Personalized Medicine and Companion Diagnostics.

“I am eager to join Kura’s Board of Directors during a key inflection point in the company’s trajectory,” said Dr. Vasconcelles. “Kura’s innovative approach to precision oncology, particularly with their menin inhibitor program for acute leukemias, presents a remarkable opportunity to make a meaningful impact for patients. I look forward to working with the team to advance these promising therapies through the clinic and toward commercialization.”

Dr. Vasconcelles also serves as a Board member of the Personalized Medicine Coalition and the Eastern New England American Cancer Society, a non-executive director of Molecular Partners, and a member of numerous Scientific Advisory Boards within the biopharmaceutical industry. From 1996 to 2021, Dr. Vasconcelles taught as a clinical instructor at the Harvard Medical School and was an associate physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Vasconcelles received his B.A. and M.D. from Northwestern University.

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