Syndax Pharmaceuticals Elects Arlene Morris to Board of Directors

Syndax Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage epigenetics oncology company, announced that Arlene Morris has been elected to the board of directors. Ms. Morris most recently was the chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Affymax, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that was spun out of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in 2001 to develop a pipeline of synthetic peptide-based drug candidates for the treatment of anemia in dialysis patients. "Arlene is bringing to Syndax extensive biotechnology and pharmaceutical experience in general management, marketing, sales, business development and strategic marketing," said Dennis Podlesak, chairman of the Syndax board of directors. "With entinostat entering a phase 3 program this is a great time for Arlene to leverage her extensive experience and provide guidance as we are moving in to the final stages of clinical development.""I am excited to join the board as Syndax moves into pivotal trials with entinostat in women with metastatic breast cancer, an area where resistance poses an ongoing problem," said Ms. Morris. "Syndax provides a great opportunity for me to contribute to the direction of a company with a promising oncology pipeline aimed at improving survival outcomes with a non-chemotherapy option."During her eight years as president and CEO at Affymax, Ms. Morris led the company through the development of peginesatide (Hematide™), a strategic collaboration with Takeda and an Initial Public Offering. Prior to Affymax Ms. Morris was the president and CEO of Clearview Projects, an advisory firm which counsels biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on strategic transactions. Before that she was the senior vice president, business development at Coulter, a biotechnology company focused on immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases, where she completed numerous transactions including a $1.0 billion merger between Corixa and Coulter. Ms. Morris began her career at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) as a sales representative rising to vice president of business development.