CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oncorus, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONCR), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation viral immunotherapies to transform outcomes for cancer patients, today announced the appointment of Scott Canute, M.B.A. to its Board of Directors. Mr. Canute has nearly 40 years of broad experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including leading global manufacturing and operations strategy and execution for Genzyme Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company.

“As we execute on our growth plans, including the buildout of our in-house manufacturing capabilities, we are delighted to welcome Scott Canute to our Board of Directors,” said Theodore (Ted) Ashburn, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Oncorus. “We look forward to leveraging Scott’s breadth of experience and insights from leading operations and manufacturing for world-class biopharmaceutical organizations as we advance our pipeline of novel viral immunotherapies for cancer patients.”

Oncorus is advancing a portfolio of intratumorally and intravenously administered viral immunotherapies for multiple indications with significant unmet needs based on its oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus (oHSV) Platform and Synthetic Virus Platform. Oncorus is currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial of its lead product candidate, ONCR-177, an intratumorally administered oHSV viral immunotherapy being developed for multiple solid tumor indications.

“I am thrilled to join Oncorus’ Board and support Ted and the Oncorus team as they continue to advance ONCR-177 through the clinic and embark on an exciting period of growth and infrastructure development to support their expanding pipeline,” said Mr. Canute. “Viral immunotherapies are increasingly gaining attention for their unique and clinically-validated approach against cancer. Oncorus’ dual-platform approach positions the company as a leader in this space. I’m excited to have the opportunity to contribute to Oncorus’ continued progression and patient-centric mission.”

Mr. Canute previously served as President of Global Manufacturing and Corporate Operations at Genzyme from 2010 to 2011, where he was brought in specifically to lead a major turnaround in manufacturing to ensure the ongoing supply of the company’s life-saving products. Prior to joining Genzyme, Mr. Canute spent 25 years at Lilly, where he held several operations and manufacturing roles of increasing responsibility, including ultimately serving as President, Global Manufacturing Operations from 2004 to 2007. In this role, Mr. Canute directed all manufacturing and supply chain activities for Lilly’s global operations.

Mr. Canute currently serves as a director of Flexion Therapeutics. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Immunomedics Inc., Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., Proteon Therapeutics, Inc., AlloCure, Inc., Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Oncobiologics, Inc., and the National Association of Manufacturers and the Indiana Manufacturers Association.

Mr. Canute earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

About Oncorus

At Oncorus, we are focused on driving innovation to deliver next-generation viral immunotherapies to transform outcomes for cancer patients. We are advancing a portfolio of intratumorally and intravenously administered viral immunotherapies for multiple indications with significant unmet needs based on our oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus (oHSV) Platform and Synthetic Virus Platform. Designed to deliver next-generation viral immunotherapy impact, our oHSV Platform improves upon key characteristics of this therapeutic class to enhance potency without sacrificing safety, including greater capacity to encode transgenes to drive systemic immunostimulatory activity, retention of full replication competency to enable high tumor-killing potency, and orthogonal safety strategies to restrict viral activity in tumor cells. Our lead oHSV program, ONCR-177, is designed to be directly administered into a tumor, resulting in high local concentrations of the therapeutic agent, as well as low systemic exposure to the therapy, which we believe could potentially limit systemic toxicities. Please visit us at www.oncorus.com to learn more.