Erasca, Inc. announced the appointments of Shannon Morris as senior vice president of clinical development and John Lo as member of Erasca's research, development, and commercial advisory board (RDCAB). Dr. Morris brings over 20 years of experience in the life sciences with a focus in oncology. She joined Erasca from Istari Oncology, where she was vice president, head of clinical development, and a member of the executive committee.

Prior to joining Istari, she was vice president of clinical development at G1 Therapeutics where she led the development of Cosela™, achieving breakthrough therapy designation as well as a successful new drug application (NDA). As a senior director at MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, she supported the successful biologics license application (BLA) for Imfinzi® and led the development of multiple early phase immuno-oncology assets. At GlaxoSmithKline, she held roles of increasing responsibility where her efforts focused on the early phase development of small molecule inhibitors of AKT, PI3K, and MEK, including the approved MEK inhibitor Mekinist®.

During her time at GlaxoSmithKline and MedImmune, Dr. Morris maintained an adjunct appointment at the University of North Carolina where her practice focused on the clinical care of patients with breast and gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Morris completed her internal medicine residency and oncology fellowship at the University of North Carolina, earned an M.D. and Ph.D. in molecular virology from Case Western Reserve University, and holds a B.S. in biological sciences from Stanford University. Dr. Lo brings over 20 years of biopharmaceutical commercial expertise, including significant commercial experience across business development, launch, and lifecycle management.

He has led multiple global strategic teams in hematology and oncology at AstraZeneca, Celgene, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Recently, as senior vice president of worldwide hematology at Bristol-Myers Squibb, he led the launch of five global hematology products including two cell therapies, Breyanzi® and Abecma®, overseeing a global portfolio of $15 billion in sales. At AstraZeneca, Dr. Lo led the strategic and global commercial function in oncology, establishing the strategy for multiple disease areas and leading 18 indication launches across the globe, including launching Tagrisso® globally, beating industry benchmarks with first year sales and doubling its sales potential, as well as launching Imfinzi® in stage 3 lung cancer to help establish a leading lung cancer franchise in targeted and immuno-oncology based therapies at the company.

He also had increasing levels of responsibility at Novartis Oncology, most recently as vice president of the hematology franchise, ad interim, in the United States, where he successfully helped drive double-digit growth for a $3 billion franchise while preparing the organization for launches and integration. He has also advised early stage biotechnology companies on strategic, portfolio, and early commercialization decisions. Prior to his career in biopharmaceuticals, Dr. Lo was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company.

He earned a Ph.D. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and holds a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.