Artax Biopharma Names Joseph Lobacki as New Chief Executive Officer

Artax Biopharma has appointed Joseph Lobacki as its new chief executive officer. Lobacki’s prior experience includes roles at Sanofi Genzyme, Medivation, Verastem (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSTM]]), and Micromet, which was later acquired by Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]). He succeeds company co-founder Damia Tormo, who has served as Artax’s CEO since its 2013 founding. The company says Tormo will remain on the board of directors.

Cambridge, MA-based Artax is preparing to move its lead drug candidate, AX-158, into the clinic to evaluate it as a treatment for multiple autoimmune diseases. The small molecule drug is designed to address such conditions without causing immunosuppression.

Author: Sarah de Crescenzo

Sarah is Xconomy's San Diego-based editor. Prior to joining the team in 2018, she wrote about startups, tech and finance at the San Diego Business Journal. Her decade of full-time news experience includes coverage of subjects including campaign finance, crime and courts as a reporter and editor at outlets throughout California, including the Orange County Register. She earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature at UC San Diego, where she wrote for the student newspaper and played collegiate lacrosse. In 2019, she earned an MBA at UC Irvine. View all posts by Sarah de Crescenzo