SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Frontier Medicines Corporation, a precision medicine company seeking to unlock the proteome to advance breakthrough therapies against otherwise undruggable disease-causing targets, today announced the appointment of Scott Kopetz, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

“Dr. Kopetz is a leading oncologist who has made numerous contributions to the field of medicine, and we are excited to welcome him to our SAB,” said Chris Varma, Ph.D., Frontier’s co-founder, chairman, and CEO. “His specialty in colorectal cancer is particularly relevant to us as we advance our activated KRAS^G12C program forward. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of colon cancers have a KRAS mutation, and these mutations are associated with more aggressive tumors and poorer patient survival.”

Dr. Kopetz joined MD Anderson in 2006 and is Professor and Deputy Chair in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology. Dr. Kopetz is board-certified in internal medicine and in medical oncology. He has authored over 350 peer-reviewed articles in respected scientific journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet, Lancet Oncology, JAMA, Cancer Discovery, and Nature Medicine. He is the principal investigator of several Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials, including trials for patients with BRAF mutated colorectal cancer that led to new standards of care. Dr. Kopetz graduated from Vanderbilt University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering/electrical engineering. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Kopetz completed his residency training in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center, followed by a medical oncology fellowship at MD Anderson. He subsequently obtained a Ph.D. at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in patient oriented biological research/cancer biology with his thesis focused on mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer.

About Frontier Medicines

Frontier Medicines is a precision medicine company that has pioneered a powerful discovery and development platform designed to generate medicines against disease-causing proteins previously considered undruggable. The company is deploying its technologies in chemoproteomics, covalent drug discovery, and machine learning to potentially develop groundbreaking medicines for genetically-defined patient populations, starting in cancer. Frontier is advancing its wholly-owned pipeline of precision medicines against the most important drivers of cancer. The company’s lead program is focused on KRAS^G12C and is distinct in that it targets direct inhibition of both the activated and inactive forms of KRAS^G12C. This KRAS mutation is found most prevalently in patients with non-small cell lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. For more information on how Frontier is boldly advancing science to defeat disease, visit www.frontiermeds.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.