ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) today announced that George A. Scangos, Ph.D. has notified the company of his decision to retire from the Exelixis Board of Directors. Dr. Scangos will not stand for re-election to the Board at the company’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which has been tentatively scheduled for May 20, 2020; his resignation from the Board will take effect that same day.
Dr. Scangos has been a member of Exelixis’ Board of Directors since October 1996, when he joined the company as its president and chief executive officer. During his nearly 14 years as CEO, he led Exelixis as it grew from an academic spinout focused on model system genetics to a drug development organization known for its drug discovery capabilities and clinical development expertise.
“George’s relationship with Exelixis reaches back to the earliest days of the company,” said Stelios Papadopoulos, Ph.D., co-founder of Exelixis and chairman of the Exelixis Board of Directors. “He was instrumental in getting Exelixis off the ground and establishing the scientific, technological, and business foundations that helped to pave the way for Exelixis to mature into the successful commercial oncology company it is today. Our Board of Directors is deeply grateful for his long-term service to Exelixis.”
Dr. Scangos cited his multiple professional and philanthropic commitments as principal reasons for his decision to retire from the Exelixis Board. Since January 2017, he has served as chief executive officer and board member of Vir Biotechnology, Inc., a clinical-stage immunology company focused on treating and preventing serious infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
“I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve Exelixis for more than two decades, first as CEO and then in an advisory role as a member of the company’s Board,” said Dr. Scangos. “Since stepping down as CEO almost 10 years ago, it has been tremendously exciting to see Exelixis persevere and prosper. With four marketed products, an expansive clinical development program for cabozantinib, and a reenergized discovery organization, Exelixis’ future is indeed very bright.”
About Exelixis
Founded in 1994, Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) is a commercially successful, oncology-focused biotechnology company that strives to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. Following early work in model system genetics, we established a broad drug discovery and development platform that has served as the foundation for our continued efforts to bring new cancer therapies to patients in need. Our discovery efforts have resulted in four commercially available products, CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib), COTELLIC® (cobimetinib) and MINNEBRO® (esaxerenone), and we have entered into partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies to bring these important medicines to patients worldwide. Supported by revenues from our marketed products and collaborations, we are committed to prudently reinvesting in our business to maximize the potential of our pipeline. We are supplementing our existing therapeutic assets with targeted business development activities and internal drug discovery - all to deliver the next generation of Exelixis medicines and help patients recover stronger and live longer. Exelixis is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) MidCap 400 index, which measures the performance of profitable mid-sized companies. For more information about Exelixis, please visit www.exelixis.com, follow @ExelixisInc on Twitter or like Exelixis, Inc. on Facebook.
