Pliant Therapeutics adds two directors with oncology expertise

Pliant Therapeutics adds two directors with oncology expertise

Gold slides as U.S.-Iran conflict lifts oil, hawkish Fed bets grow SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO - Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) announced today the appointment of Flavia Borellini, Ph.D. and Robert Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E. to its Board of Directors, according to a press release statement. Dr. Borellini has over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience focused on oncology drug development. She most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Acerta Pharma, where she oversaw the development and approval of Calquence (acalabrutinib).

At AstraZeneca, she served as Global Franchise Head for Hematology and led development and commercialization of Tagrisso (osimertinib). At Genentech, she led development and launch of Zelboraf (vemurafenib) and served as program leader for Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Tarceva (erlotinib). Dr. Borellini holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Modena and currently serves on the boards of Cantargia AP, Kartos Therapeutics and Revolution Medicines.

Dr. Iannone brings over 20 years of clinical drug development experience. He currently serves as Executive Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Jazz Pharmaceuticals. He previously held the position of Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Immunomedics.

At AstraZeneca, he served as Senior Vice President and Head of Immuno-oncology, Global Medicines Development, overseeing development of Imfinzi (durvalumab). At Merck, he served as Executive Director and Section Head of Oncology Clinical Development and was a development leader for Keytruda (pembrolizumab). Dr. Iannone received his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine and a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Autolus Therapeutics. Pliant Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing integrin-based therapeutics, with lead program PLN-101095 in development for solid tumors. The company’s stock currently trades at $1.12, near its 52-week low of $1.09, though InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is undervalued with a Fair Value of $1.63.

The company holds a market capitalization of $68.82 million and maintains a "FAIR" financial health rating. According to InvestingPro Tips, four analysts have recently revised their earnings upwards for the upcoming period, though the company is quickly burning through cash. Investors can access 7 additional ProTips and comprehensive financial metrics on InvestingPro.

In other recent news, Atisama Therapeutics announced advancements in its Phase 1 study of RB042, focusing on healthy volunteers and smokers. The study has progressed to multiple ascending dose cohorts, with three out of four single ascending dose cohorts completed, and the first multiple ascending dose cohort initiated. The company reported that the drug has shown safety and tolerability so far, with higher-dose cohort results anticipated in the latter half of 2026.

Meanwhile, Pliant Therapeutics has commenced a Phase 1b clinical trial for PLN-101095 in combination with pembrolizumab, targeting patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors. This trial, named FORTIFY, involves patients with non-small cell lung cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, or tumors characterized by a high tumor mutational burden. Additionally, Pliant Therapeutics presented updated data from its Phase 1 trial of the same drug combination at the American Association for Cancer Research 2026 Annual Meeting.

The data revealed one confirmed complete response and several partial responses in patients with various cancers, indicating potential effectiveness in this patient group.