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Jounce Therapeutics Appoints Dmitri Wiederschain, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific OfficerCAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jounce Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNCE), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies and predictive biomarkers, today announced the appointment of Dmitri Wiederschain, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. “The addition of Dmitri to the Jounce team comes at an exciting juncture in our company development,” said Richard Murray, Ph.D., chief executive officer and president of Jounce Therapeutics. “Dmitri brings a broad knowledge of contemporary immuno-oncology approaches, tumor immunology and cancer biology. His expertise with preclinical target discovery and first-in-human research will provide us with invaluable contributions in our work towards delivering the right immunotherapies to the right patients.” “Jounce’s scientific approach to interrogating the tumor microenvironment is what drew me to the company. With a career deeply rooted in cancer biology and immuno-oncology drug discovery, I believe that Jounce is strongly positioned to make a meaningful impact on today’s therapeutic landscape,” said Dmitri Wiederschain, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Jounce Therapeutics. “With an exciting discovery pipeline and engine, I am looking forward to collaborating closely with the team to continue to advance not only our two proof of concept studies, but also new discovery programs.” Dr. Wiederschain brings more than 15 years of pharmaceutical industry experience as a scientific leader and drug developer. Dr. Wiederschain joins Jounce from Sanofi, where he held roles of increasing responsibility over the course of 11 years and helped build a pipeline encompassing a diverse array of immuno-oncology approaches. Most recently, he was vice president and global head of immuno-oncology research where he oversaw projects from conception to IND stage, built productive partnerships and research collaborations and advanced 10 development candidates into the clinic whle leading a large international team of scientists in both the U.S. and France. Prior to joining Sanofi, Dr. Wiederschain was an investigator and laboratory head of discovery biology, and prior to that a presidential post-doctoral fellow in oncology at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research. He has also co-authored 45 publications in peer-reviewed journals to date. Dr. Wiederschain holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences and an A.L.B. in Natural Sciences from Harvard University. In connection with Dr. Wiederschain’s appointment, the compensation committee of Jounce’s Board of Directors has approved the grant of a non-qualified stock option award to purchase an aggregate of 225,000 shares of Jounce’s common stock to him. The grant date of the stock option will be May 1, 2021, and the stock option will have an exercise price equal to the closing price of Jounce’s common stock on May 1, 2021. The stock option was granted outside of Jounce’s 2017 Stock Option and Incentive Plan as an inducement material to Dr. Wiederschain’s acceptance of employment with Jounce in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The stock option has a 10-year term and vests over four years, with 25% of the award vesting on the first anniversary of his employment, and as to an additional 1/12th of the shares quarterly thereafter, subject to Dr. Wiederschain’s continued employment through applicable vesting dates (subject to the terms and conditions of the stock option agreement covering the grant). About Jounce Therapeutics Investor and Media Contacts: Mark Yore |