CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDTX), a precision oncology medicine company pioneering the discovery and development of small molecule, tumor-agnostic therapies, today announced the appointment of Robert A. Ingram as the Chairman of its Board of Directors. Brad Bolzon, Ph.D., Chairman and Managing Director at Versant Ventures and Black Diamond’s founding Chairman, will remain on the Company’s board.

“As we welcome Bob to his new role, I would like to thank Brad for the integral role he played as Chairman of the Board of Black Diamond from our founding with Versant through our transition to a public company, and I’m very happy that he will continue to help guide the company as a director,” said David M. Epstein, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Black Diamond Therapeutics. “Bob is a world-class leader in the pharmaceutical industry having guided and shaped numerous companies including serving as CEO and Chairman of GlaxoWellcome and his role in the merger that formed GlaxoSmithKline. His leadership and expertise will be critical as we continue to execute on our strategy to become a leading precision oncology company.”

“Black Diamond possesses an innovative and proprietary MAP platform, compelling clinical and early stage assets, and dynamic leadership team, and has the potential to transform the oncology therapeutic landscape,” said Mr. Ingram. “I’m thrilled to join as Chairman to help Black Diamond achieve its vision of developing precision oncology medicines for all patients with genetically defined cancers.”

“It’s my pleasure to welcome Bob to the Board of Black Diamond,” said Dr. Bolzon. “He is the ideal fit for the company’s next stage of growth, given his deep experience leading both biotech and pharma companies.”

Mr. Ingram served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of GlaxoWellcome, where he co-led the merger and integration that formed GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Mr. Ingram is currently a General Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage life sciences companies. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and is a board member of Novan, Inc., and of HBM Healthcare Investments. The recipient of three presidential appointments, Mr. Ingram was the Founding Chair of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer and currently serves as a member of the President’s Cancer Panel. He also serves on the board of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, the Research Triangle Institute, and is Chairman of the GSK Foundation. In 2013, Mr. Ingram received the NACD B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Corporate Directors. He obtained his B.S. in Business Administration from Eastern Illinois University.

About Black Diamond

Black Diamond Therapeutics is a precision oncology medicine company pioneering the discovery of small molecule, tumor-agnostic therapies. Black Diamond targets undrugged mutations in patients with genetically defined cancers. Black Diamond is built upon a deep understanding of cancer genetics, protein structure and function, and medicinal chemistry. The Company’s proprietary technology platform, Mutation-Allostery-Pharmacology (MAP) platform, is designed to allow Black Diamond to analyze population-level genetic sequencing data to identify oncogenic mutations that promote cancer across tumor types, group these mutations into families, and develop a single small molecule therapy in a tumor-agnostic manner that targets a specific family of mutations. Black Diamond was founded by David M. Epstein, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Buck, Ph.D., and, beginning in 2017, together with Versant Ventures, began building the MAP platform and chemistry discovery engine. For more information, please visit www.blackdiamondtherapeutics.com.