24 November 2020 - - Mark de Souza has joined US-based pharmaceutical company Penrose TherapeuTx as chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, the company said.

de Souza brings decades of leadership experience in supporting advancements in healthcare through initiatives with some of the nation's leading scientific research and cancer organizations including the Lynn Sage Foundation, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and the Gastro-Intestinal Research Foundation.

de Souza has demonstrated success in building and leading cross-functional teams to meet and exceed business goals and brings decades of business development, finance, corporate management, private equity and capital raising experience.

Throughout his career, de Souza has led fundraising initiatives for companies totaling more than USD 250m.

Most recently as CEO of Revolution Global, a leading multi-state cannabis health and wellness company, de Souza raised over USD 100m in investments which fueled innovative research into commercialization in the complex and highly regulated cannabis health and wellness industry.

Revolution Global achieved market leadership and launched several successful health-focused products under his leadership.

As a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange since 1992, de Souza brings established expertise in risk management, having managed over USD 1bn/day in notional transactions, and valuation to Penrose TherapeuTx to help the company reach its full potential.

He also served as president of County Cork, LLC, a family office-owned investment company specializing in all senior management issues relating to asset allocation, risk analysis and business development.

de Souza provides a keen understanding of legislation and regulatory frameworks to Penrose TherapeuTx through his extensive lobbying and government relations experience, having served as a member of the CME Political Action Committee, participating in the Congressional lobbying efforts on legislative and regulatory issues affecting the Futures industry.

He also served on the board of directors of the Marijuana Policy Project and on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's agriculture transition committee, advising on issues related to the state's agriculture industry, including Medical and Recreational Cannabis and Industrial Hemp.

Penrose TherapeuTx is a US-based pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative small-molecule therapies for the treatment of advanced cancers.

Penrose has developed a proprietary, chemistry-driven research platform focused on cancer mitochondrial metabolism and signaling.

Pre-clinical research has demonstrated strong in-vivo efficacy signals for the company's lead candidate, which is expected to undergo investigational new drug application enabling studies in 1Q21.

Initiation of clinical trials in Stage IV Colorectal Cancer and Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer are expected to follow in 2022.