Hahn will Bring Unparalleled Experience in Drug Development to Growing Biotech Firm
(CLEVELAND, OH) – Stephen Hahn, MD, 24th Commissioner of Food and Drugs and the former chief medical executive (CME) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is joining Lamassu Biotech, a private, pioneering clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, as a board member and strategic advisor.
As a clinician, pharmaceutical executive and national public health leader, Dr. Hahn will bring his extensive expertise to advance Lamassu’s drug development process. His expertise in medical oncology and radiation oncology will assist Lamassu as it advances its targeted therapy SA53, which could be applicable in upwards of 50 percent of all cancer cases including many rare cancers—such as sarcoma—that currently lack effective treatments. The treatment is next-generation, small-molecule MDM2 inhibitor which has demonstrated significant progress and favorable safety profile in an ongoing Phase 1/2a clinical trial.
Dr. Hahn is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Nucleus RadioPharma, a contract development and manufacturing company for radiopharmaceutical therapies. He has more than two decades of distinguished leadership in biotech, government, healthcare strategy, oncology medical practice, and translational/clinical research.
“It is a pleasure to join this extraordinary team of physician-scientists who are bringing needed innovation to the treatment of oncology that could be transformative in the lives of millions of patients globally,” said Stephen Hahn, MD. Throughout his career, Dr. Hahn has focused his professional growth on translational research efforts on the evaluation of the tumor microenvironment, signal transduction pathways involved in tumor response to therapies and proton therapy. In his current role, Dr. Hahn drives the scaling of radiopharmaceutical manufacturing to expand access to precision cancer therapies, building successful and strategic partnerships. He has authored hundreds of original research articles and has experience in medical product development.
“Lamassu’s work to streamline the research and development process to advance one of the most important and promising anti-cancer pathway MDM2 inhibitor that activate wild type P53 and maintaining absolute fidelity to strong science and patient’s care is yielding tremendous results. I look forward to helping this dynamic team build a strong record of success,” said Hahn.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Hahn to our board of directors and as an active advisor to Lamassu as we continue to advance our suite of innovative therapies,” said Dr. Gabi Hanna, CEO and co-founder of Lamassu Biotech. “Dr. Hahn brings an unparalleled understanding of the drug development process and extensive knowledge about cancer therapy at a critical time for our company. His insights and expertise will help us continue to accelerate our work to bring hope and healing to those struggling with stubborn cancers where MDM2 amplification is common.”
As the Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Hahn oversaw regulatory affairs for the federal government, including the development of therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and clinical trials. After leaving the FDA, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Harbinger Health, a cancer diagnostics biotechnology company from 2021 to 2025.
Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Hahn served as the chief medical executive (CME) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he was responsible for day-to-day management of the institution, including business, clinical and faculty matters. Under his purview was one of the largest clinical trial groups in the country. He joined MD Anderson in 2015 giving him unique perspective that will benefit Lamassu’s ongoing and future drug development efforts.
Lamassu Biotech recently announced a significant clinical milestone in its Phase 1/2 trial investigation of SA53. The next-generation, MDM2 inhibitor therapy has met all defined safety parameters to date, without the occurrence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) or any clinically significantly adverse events that would prevent the continuation of treatment as planned in the current protocol.
Further, according to the data reviewed to date, there have been no serious or dose limiting adverse events, and SA53 has thus far demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile.
Additional information about the company, its drug pipeline, and its team of medical experts can be found at www.LamassuBiotech.com.
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About Lamassu Biotech
Lamassu Biotech is a private clinical stage, pioneering pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics for severe and unmet medical needs. Leading assets include SA53 a molecular targeted MDM-2 inhibitor that targets P53 wild-type cancers currently at Phase 1/2 clinical trial, and RABI-767 a lipase inhibitor at Phase 2 clinical trial. With decades of experience, Lamassu specializes in advancing transformational treatments from concept to bedside with efficiency and precision. Lamassu partners and collaborates with top-flight institutions like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and NIH, leveraging the best intellectual capital to accelerate the application of treatments that bring hope and healing. Learn more at LamassuBioTech.com.