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Oncology Breakthroughs: The Latest in Cancer Research

Meet Some of Pfizer’s Oncology Researchers

Jeff Settleman, Ph.D

Chief Scientific Officer

Group: Oncology Research & Development
Location: La Jolla, CA
LinkedIn page URL: N/A

Dr. Jeff Settleman is the Chief Scientific Officer for Oncology Research and Development and serves as the La Jolla site head. Dr. Settleman leads all oncology research from the beginning stages of discovery to proof of concept clinical studies.

Dr. Settleman is an internationally recognized leader in molecularly targeted cancer therapeutics, the epigenetics of cancer drug resistance, and personalized cancer medicine.

Dr. Settleman held numerous notable positions in both academic research and drug discovery before joining the Pfizer team. Prior to his current role, Dr. Settleman served as Distinguished Principal Investigator and Head of Oncology Research at Calico Life Sciences. Prior to Calico, Dr. Settleman led Discovery Oncology at Genentech.

Dr. Settleman served as a Professor at the Harvard School of Medicine for 18 years and during his tenure he was named the Laurel Schwartz Professor of Oncology. During that same timeframe, Dr. Settleman served as Director of the Center for Molecular Therapeutics and Scientific Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and led the Cancer Cell Biology program of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

Dr. Settleman’s impressive career began at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT where he was a postdoctoral fellow in Oncology and Cancer Biology.

Dr. Settleman received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Yale University and his B.A. in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of over 240 peer-reviewed publications, many of which have appeared in Cell, Science, and Nature.

Kim T. Arndt, Ph.D

Vice President, Oncology Scientific Strategy

Group: Oncology Scientific Strategy
Location: Pearl River, NY
LinkedIn page URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-arndt-3876b317/

After my postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Institute/MIT, I went to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as a Senior Staff Investigate where we used yeast as a model organism to study novel mechanisms for regulation of cell cycle and cell growth. After 9 years, I moved to Wyeth Research in 1996 with a desire to translate science into treatment of human cancer. During this time, I led a group that developed Bosulif: an Abl/Src kinase inhibitor that is approved for relapsed and first line chronic myelogenous leukemia. Pfizer acquired Wyeth in 2009 and after serving as Vice President of Oncology Target Discovery within the Pfizer Oncology Research organization, I am currently Vice President of Oncology Scientific Strategy.

RESEARCH AREA

I manage coordination of Oncology Scientific Strategy and the project portfolio through collaboration with our three Chief Scientific Officers in the Oncology Research Division. We review external scientific innovation and business development partnering opportunities.

PUBLICATIONS

Epigenetic reprogramming by tumor-derived EZH2 gain-of-function mutations promotes aggressive 3D cell morphologies and enhances melanoma tumor growth.
Oncotarget. 2015 6:2928-2938.
Barsotti AM, Ryskin M, Zhong W, Zhang WG, Giannakou A, Loreth C, Diesl V, Follettie M, Golas J, Lee M, Nichols T, Fan C, Li G, Dann S, Fantin VR, Arndt K, Verhelle D, Rollins RA
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25671303
Molecular Pathways: Targeting the Cyclin D-CDK4/6 Axis for Cancer Treatment.
Clinical Cancer Research. 2015 21(13): 1-6.
VanArsdale T, Boshoff C, Arndt KT, Abraham RT
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25941111
Efficacy of SERD/SERM Hybrid-CDK4/6 inhibitor combinations in models of endocrine therapy resistant breast cancer.
Clinical Cancer Research. 2015 21:5121-5130.
Wardell SE, Ellis MJ, Alley HM, Eisele K, VanArsdale T, Dann SG, Arndt KT, Primeau T, Griffin E, Shao J, Crowder RJ, Lai JP, Norris JD, McDonnell DP, Li S.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25991817

EDUCATION

Albright College, B.S. in Biochemistry, 1975
University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D. in Biochemistry, 1981
University of Pennsylvania, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1984
Whitehead Institute/MIT, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1988

AWARDS & HONORS

Sigma Xi Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award, 1981
Wyeth Eagles Program (development program of top performers in R&D), 2002 – 2004
Winner: Pfizer Oncology B> "Colleague of the Year"; For discovery of BOSULIF for the treatment of CML, 2016

“It is a joy to work at Pfizer where every day you wake up and face the incredible challenges of learning many new things, the excitement of discovering new science, and the satisfaction of translating your efforts into therapies that extend the lives of cancer patients. There is no better job in the world.”

Robert Rickert, Ph.D.

SVP, Chief Scientific Officer, Cancer Immunology Discovery

Group: Oncology
Location: South San Francisco, CA
LinkedIn page URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-rickert-25604427

I joined the immuno-oncology efforts at Pfizer after 20 years in academia, initially as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Biological Science at the University of California, San Diego, and then at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP). At SBP, I was a Professor and Director of the Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Immunology Program in the NCI-designated Cancer Center. Currently, I am the Chief Scientific Officer of the Cancer Immunology Discover (CID) Unit of Pfizer Oncology Research & Development, which is located in South San Francisco. Our driving interest is to understand how cells of the immune system are instructed or foiled in eradicating cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment. Understanding these cellular interactions at the molecular level holds the promise of developing novel immunotherapeutics that can confer durable anti-tumor responses.

RESEARCH AREA(S)

The Cancer Immunology Discovery (CID) team in South San Francisco is focused on the generation of large molecule immunotherapeutics that promote anti-tumor activity or counter immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. To achieve this goal, protein engineers, immunologists and cancer biologists at CID combine talents to advance projects from concept to clinical compounds. Protein engineering efforts are supported by a world class antibody generation program, and a commitment to effective biotherapeutic design that stresses both ingenuity and simplicity. Our immunologists and cancer biologists take a holistic approach to understanding the interplay of tumor, stromal and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, striving to define the axes of intercellular communication that could be leveraged to generate novel therapeutics.

PUBLICATIONS

PDK1 regulates B cell differentiation and homeostasis. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 2014 Jul 1;111(26):9573-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1314562111 Baracho, G.V., Zhu Z., Cato M.H., Jaren O.R., Hobeika E., Reth M., and Rickert, R.C.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=24979759
Essential Role for Survivin in the Proliferative Expansion of Progenitor and Mature B Cells. J Immunol. 2016 Mar 1;196(5):2195-204. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1501690. Miletic A.V., Jellusova J., Cato M.H., Lee C.R., Baracho G.V., Conway E.M., and Rickert R.C.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=26810226
Differing requirements for MALT1 function in peripheral B cell survival and differentiation. J Immunol. 2017 Feb 1;198(3):1066-1080. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1502518. Lee P., Zhu Z., Hachmann J., Nojima T., Kitamura D., Salvesen G.S., and Rickert R.C.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28031341
GSK3 is a metabolic checkpoint regulator in B cells. Nat Immunol. 2017 Mar;18(3):303-312. doi: 10.1038/ni.3664 Jellusova, J., Cato M.H., Apgar J.R., Ramezani-Rad P., Leung C., Chen C., Richardson A.D., Conner E.M., Benschop R.J., Woodgett J.R., and Rickert R.C.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28114292
Metabolic regulation of the humoral response. Immunity. 2017 May 16;46(5):743-755. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2017.04.009. Boothby M. and Rickert R.C.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28514675

EDUCATION

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Biological Sciences, B.S., 1986
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Microbiology and Immunology, Ph.D., 1992
University of Cologne, Institute for Genetics, Postdoctoral Associate, 1997

AWARDS & HONORS

Fellowship recipient, Kölner Verein zur Förderung der Immunologie, 1995 – 1997
Fellowship recipient, Hellman Fellows Program for junior faculty, 2001 – 2002
Recipient, Concern Foundation Award, 2004 – 2006
American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, 2004 – 2008
Outstanding alumnus, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2013

“The field of cancer immunology is in its infancy and yet we have already witnessed highly durable responses in some patients responding to check point inhibitors. While these treatments demonstrate the promise of immunotherapy, challenges remain to develop novel approaches that deliver effective, safe and durable treatments across tumor types. That’s the challenge we embrace every day and drives our discovery research.”

Nicholas A Saccomano, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer-SVP, Pfizer Boulder Research and Development

Group: Worldwide Research and Development (WRDM)
Location: Boulder, CO
LinkedIn page URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-a-saccomano-ph-d-0916a01/

I currently serve as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and site head of the Pfizer Boulder Research & Development facility. Prior to the acquisition of Array BioPharma, Inc. by Pfizer in August of 2019, I served as the CSO of Array since May 2014. I am a seasoned leader with 35 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development, with expertise in discovery research, clinical development, portfolio strategy, technology and clinical candidate licensing, and scientific partnering. Prior to Array, I served as Chief Technology Officer at SomaLogic, Inc. and as Chief Scientific Officer at Bend Research Inc.

I began my career at Pfizer and held positions of increasing responsibility, including Senior Vice President in the R&D organization. As SVP I managed and developed global core technology functions used broadly across the drug R&D pipeline, served as site head for the Pfizer Cambridge site and managed Pfizer’s external research network and Strategic Alliances. Also during my time at Pfizer, I ran the CNS discovery chemistry organization which brought more than 25 molecules to the clinic and three molecules to the market. I obtained my Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University under the direction of Professor Gilbert Stork.

RESEARCH AREA

My team in Boulder is primarily focused on the discovery and development of targeted small molecule drugs that have the potential to treat patients afflicted by cancer. With our track record in drugging RAS/RAF/MEK signaling, which is central to many types of cancer, I believe we can help deliver the next wave of breakthrough cancer treatments and combinations.

PUBLICATIONS

Kraemer, S; Vaught, J.D.; Bock, C; Gold, L.; Katilius E.; Keeney, T.R.; Kim, N.; Saccomano, N.A.; Wilcox, S.K.; Zichi, D.; Sanders, G.M. From SOMAmer-Based Biomarker Discovery to Diagnostic and Clinical Applications: A SOMAmer-Based Streamlined Multiplex Proteomic Assay. PLoS ONE 6(10):e26332, 2011. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0026332
Sanguinetti, M.C., Johnson, J.H., Hammerland, L.G., Kelbaugh, P.R., Volkmann, R.A., Saccomano, N.A., and Mueller, A. L.. Heteropodatoxins: Peptides isolated from spider venom that block Kv4.2 potassium channels. Mol Pharmacol 51:491-8, 1997 http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/51/3/491
Heck, S.D.; Faraci, W.S.; Kelbaugh, P.R.; Saccomano, N.A.; Thadeio P.F. and Volkmann, R.A. Post-Translational Amino Acid Epimerization: Enzyme Catalyzed Isomerizations of Amino Acids Residues in Peptide Chains. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci 93:4036-2039, 1996. https://www.pnas.org/content/93/9/4036
Heck,S.D.; Siok, C.J.; Phillips, D.; Hirning, L.D.; Alan H. Ganong,A.H.; Krapcho,K.J.; Welch,M.J.; Ahlijanian, M.K.; Gray,W.R.; Kelbaugh, P.R.; Thadeio,P.F.; Kelly,M.K.; Parks, T.N.; Lanzetti,A.M.; Jackson, H; Saccomano, N.A.; and Volkmann, R.A. Functional Consequences of Posttranslational somerizaton of Ser46 in a calcium channel toxin. Science 266:10465, 1994. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/266/5187/1065
Saccomano, N.A. and Ahlijanian, M.K. Ca2+ channel Toxins: Tools to Study Channel Structure and Function. Drug Dev. Res 33:319-343. 9, 1994 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ddr.430330312

EDUCATION

State University of New York College at Buffalo, Chemistry, B.S., 1980
Columbia University, Organic Chemistry, Ph.D., 1984

AWARDS & HONORS

Central Research Achievement Award
Helped establish the Terri Bordeur Breast Cancer Foundation, 2006
Chair of Terri Bordeur Breast Cancer Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, Present

“I am proud to be part of a team at Pfizer that continues to invest in and translate groundbreaking science into potential treatments that could transform the lives of patients living with difficult-to-treat cancers.”

Pfizer strives to set the standard in cancer research. Through clinical cancer research we create results for oncology treatment options.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.¹ With more than 100 types and a biology that’s constantly changing, it’s also one of the most complex diseases known to mankind.^{2, 3} In 2012, there were 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer deaths worldwide.⁴ By 2030, the global burden is expected to grow to 21.7 million new cancer cases and 13 million cancer deaths as a result of growth and aging of the population.⁵

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with an estimated 1.8 million people in the world diagnosed each year⁶.

Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis with survival of only 1-3 years.⁷

Approximately 13 people are diagnosed with GI stromal tumors every day.

Nearly 412,000 people worldwide will be diagnosed with leukemia by 2020⁹.

About 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime¹⁰

More than 60,000 new cases of renal cell carcinoma are diagnosed each year in the U.S.¹¹

Pfizer is developing treatments that are as diverse as the disease itself.

Pfizer is developing treatments that are as diverse as the disease itself with a sharp focus on the most disruptive advances in science and guided by the urgency to help patients receive the next wave of life-changing cancer medicines.

Although traditional cancer-fighting tools like chemotherapy and radiation remain important treatment options for doctors and patients, scientists are uncovering new approaches to attack cancer cells directly and more effectively. With recent clinical success in immunotherapy reshaping the field of oncology, the prospects for more durable and even curative responses to many cancers are on the horizon.

Pfizer Scientist Bob Abraham Meets Patient Matt Hiznay

The key to cancer treatment is not just to understand how cancer cells behave on their own, but to learn how they evade the body’s immune system and existing treatments. Pfizer’s pipeline of potential cancer medicines includes differentiated therapies with multiple mechanisms of action that target both the tumor itself and the immune system. We are investigating medicines for breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, gastric cancer, ovarian cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and hematologic malignancies, including leukemias and lymphomas.

Our research in oncology focuses primarily on:

Technologies/Approach

Pfizer is advancing the frontiers of cancer biology with a “toolbox” of differentiated modalities that will allow us to provide the right treatment for each patient:

Collaborations are a key part of how Pfizer conducts cancer research

Cancer is a challenge far too great to tackle alone. Collaborations are a key part of how Pfizer conducts cancer research. We look to partner with the strongest science and scientists wherever it is found, be it academia, government, foundations, biotechnology or other large pharmaceutical companies.

Work with Us

If you’re interested in collaborating with our Oncology Partnering page to learn more about the work we're pursuing.

¹National Cancer Institute, “Cancer Statistics.” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics²National Cancer Institute, “What Is Cancer.” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer³Niller, E, “Obama’s Anti-Cancer Moonshot Will Need More Than Research.” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at https://www.wired.com/2016/01/obamas-anti-cancer-moonshot-will-need-more-than-research/⁴American Cancer Society, “Global Cancer Facts & Figures.” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/global⁵American Cancer Society, “Global Cancer Facts & Figures.” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/global⁶International Agency for Research on Cancer, “GLOBOCAN 2012: Estimated Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide in 2012.” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at http://globocan.iarc.fr/Pages/fact_sheets_cancer.aspx?cancer=lung⁷Yao JC, et al. Population-based study of islet cell carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2007; 14(12):3492–3500.⁸American Cancer Society, “Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST).” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003103-pdf.pdf⁹GLOBOCAN 2012: Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide. Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at http://globocan.iarc.fr/old/burden.asp?selection_pop=224900&Text-p=World&selection_cancer=12280&Text-c=Leukaemia&pYear=8&type=0&window=1&submit=%C2%A0Execute¹⁰American Cancer Society, “Breast Cancer.” Accessed 18 November 2016. Available at http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003090-pdf.pdf¹¹Siegel R, et al. Cancer Statistics 2015. CA CANCER J CLIN. 2015; 63 (1) 11-20.