BOSTON, Dec. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP)  announced that Satyavrat “Sath” Shukla, CFA, Chief Financial Officer, has informed the Company of his intention to step down from the role effective December 31, 2020 to pursue another opportunity. The Company has initiated a search for a new Chief Financial Officer.

Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Ziopharm, said, “On behalf of everyone at Ziopharm, I would like to thank Sath for his strong commitment and valuable contributions towards helping the Company advance its therapies through development and closer to patients in need. During his tenure, Sath has been instrumental in successfully building a robust balance sheet and a strong team. I am grateful for his support and partnership and wish him well on his future endeavors.”

Mr. Shukla added, “It has been a privilege to work with Laurence and the outstanding team of professionals at Ziopharm and I wish them nothing but success in their important work for cancer patients in need.”

About Ziopharm Oncology, Inc.

Ziopharm is developing non-viral and cytokine-driven cell and gene therapies that weaponize the body’s immune system to treat the millions of people globally diagnosed with a solid tumor each year. With its multiplatform approach, Ziopharm is at the forefront of immuno-oncology with a goal to treat any type of solid tumor. Ziopharm’s pipeline is built for commercially scalable, cost effective T-cell receptor T-cell therapies based on its non-viral Sleeping Beauty gene transfer platform, a precisely controlled IL-12 gene therapy, and rapidly manufactured Sleeping Beauty-enabled CD19-specific CAR-T program. The Company has clinical and strategic partnerships with the National Cancer Institute, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and others. For more information, please visit www.ziopharm.com.