Nuvalent Appoints Chief Scientific Officer

Nuvalent Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating precisely targeted therapies for clinically proven kinase targets in cancer, has promoted Henry Pelish, Ph.D., to Chief Scientific Officer. In this role, Pelish will continue to oversee discovery and early-stage development activities.

“This promotion reflects Henry’s significant contributions to establishing the cornerstone of our approach at Nuvalent: leveraging a deep expertise in chemistry and structure-based drug design with the goal to deliver meaningful patient impact,” said James Porter, Ph.D., CEO at Nuvalent. “Under Henry’s leadership, our discovery team has brought forward three novel kinase inhibitors with the aim of delivering on potential best-in-class target product profiles, two of which have demonstrated preliminary clinical proof-of-concept, and continues to advance a robust discovery pipeline. We are pleased to recognize his talent, vision, and dedication towards advancing our mission to discover, develop, and deliver a pipeline of precisely targeted therapies for patients with cancer.”

Pelish contributed to the creation of Nuvalent and joined as Biology lead in 2018, overseeing the discovery and early-stage development of zidesamtinib, NVL-655 and NVL-330 and ongoing research and discovery efforts. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University and has over 15 years of experience in cancer biology, chemical biology and organic chemistry.

“The opportunity to take part in building Nuvalent from the ground up has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” said Pelish. “From the outset, our efforts have focused on solving for the limitations of existing therapies, and I am encouraged by all we have been able to achieve thus far. I look forward to continuing to work with my highly dedicated colleagues towards our goal of delivering tangible benefits to patients with cancer.”