Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. has announced the appointments of two new members to the Board of Directors of Lixte; Yun Yen, MD, Ph.D. and Winson (Sze Chun) Ho, MD.

Yun Yen, M.D. Ph.D. F.A.C.P. is a physician, scientist, innovator, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as an expert in ribonucleotide reductase, a critical target in cancer therapy and diagnostics. He is President Emeritus of Taipei Medical University (TMU) and Chair Professor of the Ph.D. Program for Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery. Prior to TMU, Dr. Yen was the Allen and Lee Chao Endowed Chair in Developmental Cancer Therapeutics, Chair of Molecular Pharmacology Department, Associate Director for Translational Research, and Co-Director of the Developmental Cancer Therapeutics Program at the City of Hope NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte CA. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, holds over 60 patents, and has commercialized multiple methodologies involving nanoparticles, small and large molecule drugs, biomarkers, stem cells, and medical devices. Dr. Yen also founded philanthropic organizations aimed at serving the global cancer community and holds membership in numerous professional societies. He serves on the boards of Fulgent Genetics and Tanvex BioPharma Inc. 

Winson Ho, M.D. is presently a pediatric neurosurgery fellow at the University of Utah School of Medicine. After receiving his MD from Yale University School of Medicine, he had four years of training in Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Prior to his final year as chief resident at UVA, Dr. Ho spent three years doing molecular pharmacologic research on methods to enhance the efficacy of cancer therapy as a Clinical and Research Fellow in the Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH. His research includes several studies of Lixte’s lead clinical compound, the protein phosphatase 2A inhibitor LB-100, including the demonstration that LB-100 potentiates the effectiveness of the immune checkpoint blocker, PD-1, in several preclinical models, results that were recently published in Nature Communications.

Dr. John S. Kovach, founder and CEO of Lixte, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Yen and Dr. Ho to Lixte’s Board. They are outstanding scientists who add exceptional expertise in cancer drug development to the company. Dr. Yen has long been a leader in taking basic advances in cancer drug pharmacology to the clinic and on to commercialization. As such, he adds valuable experience to Lixte at a crucial moment in the clinical development of its lead novel compound, LB-100. At the same time, Dr. Ho, a dynamic clinician/scientist with a remarkable appreciation of the challenges inherent in successful drug development, brings firsthand experience and expertise in the potential use of LB-100 for advancing the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapeutic agents.”