Halia Therapeutics, a US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced on Thursday that it has named Dr Margit M Janat-Amsbury, MD, Ph.D. as its new chief medical officer.

Dr Janat-Amsbury has 20 plus years of experience in academic and industry settings. She has served as an executive medical director in Early Oncology Development at Amgen, product team lead for Amgen's prostate portfolio. She has managed the development of multiple small molecules at Tolero Pharmaceuticals. She has served in faculty appointments with the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, the Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Utah, where she also served as co-director of the Center for Nanomedicine.

Dr David J Bearss, Halia Therapeutics president and chief executive officer, said, 'We are delighted to welcome Dr Janát-Amsbury to our team. Her significant expertise in successfully driving clinical development of oncology drug candidates will prove invaluable to the company as we continue to advance the development of our lead compound, HT-6184, for treating diseases driven by chronic inflammation.'