Andrew Mazar, PhD

Dr. Mazar is a translational researcher, drug development thought leader and entrepreneur with over 30 years experience at the interface of academia and industry spanning discovery through phase 3 trial design and implementation. He has led pre-clinical and early clinical development for targeted oncology drugs including antibodies, peptides, antibody and peptide conjugates, and small molecules. He has also led discovery and application of mechanism-based biomarkers to drug pharmacodynamics, candidate selection and patient enrichment. His operational expertise spans academia and industry, including academic spin outs and start-up company formations, financing, business development and partnership, and commercialization. He has also led regulatory interactions with FDA and EMA, resulting in INDs, orphan drug designations; four drugs advanced to phase 3 and numerous phase 1 & phase 2 human trials. He is a recognized expert in cancer metastasis research and specifically in the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR), GSK-3b and their role in cancer and fibrosis. Dr. Mazar currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Actuate Therapeutics. He has previously served as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence and the Director, Center for Developmental Therapeutics (CDT) within the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute at Northwestern University. Prior to joining Northwestern University, Dr. Mazar was the Chief Scientific Officer at Attenuon, LLC in San Diego. He started his career at Abbott labs in Abbott Park, IL. He currently serves as a member of the editorial board of Clinical Cancer Research. He is also the co-author of 150 peer reviewed publications, reviews and book chapters and is a co-inventor on >100 patents internationally.