iOnctura appoints Paul Sekhri as Chair of its Board of Directors

• Paul Sekhri is a life science executive with more than 35 years of experience building and leading companies from early development through commercialization
• Appointment comes as iOnctura prepares for late-stage development of roginolisib, with its two randomized studies fully enrolled
• Strengthens iOnctura’s Board with extensive experience in company building, strategic transactions and financing
  
  

GENEVA, AMSTERDAM and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iOnctura, a clinical-stage precision oncology company combating neglected and hard-to-treat cancers, today announces the appointment of Paul Sekhri as Chair of its Board of Directors with immediate effect.

Paul’s career spans business development, corporate strategy, M&A and financing across large pharma, biotech and private equity. He has served on more than 40 public, private and non-profit boards, 18 of them as Chair.

He is currently Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of vTv Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VTVT), Independent Chair of Apnimed, Inc. (Nasdaq: APMD), Chair of Resolution Therapeutics, Executive Chairman of Violet Therapeutics and is a director of Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV). He was Chair of Longboard Pharmaceuticals until its $2.6 billion acquisition by Lundbeck in 2024. He is an Operating Partner at Petrichor Healthcare Capital Management and an advisor to Syncona Investment Management and Epidarex Capital.

He was previously President and CEO of eGenesis, Inc., and before this President and CEO of Lycera Corp. He served as Senior Vice President, Integrated Care, at Sanofi and, before that, Group Executive Vice President, Global Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. Before Teva, he was Operating Partner and Head of the Biotechnology Operating Group at TPG Biotech, overseeing a portfolio of more than 50 life sciences companies. He was Founder, President and CEO of Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, President and Chief Business Officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, and earlier in his career spent five years at Novartis in global business development roles.

Catherine Pickering, CEO and co-founder of iOnctura, said: “Paul brings an exceptional combination of biotechnology leadership, strategic vision and capital markets expertise that will be invaluable as we enter our next phase of growth. As roginolisib advances toward Phase III development, his experience building, financing and leading innovative life science companies will help position iOnctura for long-term success.

“Our ability to attract a leader of Paul’s caliber reflects both the strength of our science and the opportunity ahead. I look forward to working closely with him as we continue our mission of bringing new treatment options to patients with neglected and hard-to-treat cancers.

“On behalf of the Board, I would also like to thank Dr. Mark Velleca for his contributions as Chair and wish him well for the future.”

Paul Sekhri, Chair of the Board of Directors of iOnctura, said: “PI3Kδ is a validated target, but first generation inhibitors could not be dosed safely for long enough to make a meaningful difference to patients. Roginolisib’s unique ability to lock PI3Kδ in its inactive state is the most convincing solution to that challenge I have seen. The survival signal in uveal melanoma, where patients have very few options, underscores its potential. With two randomized studies fully enrolled, the upcoming readouts will define roginolisib’s path into pivotal development. As Chair, my focus is to ensure iOnctura has the capital and partnerships to move quickly as opportunities emerge. I have sat on a lot of boards at this stage of a company’s life, and few have had a clearer set of near-term catalysts.”

For more information contact:
iOnctura
Corporate Press Office:
press@iOnctura.com

Optimum Strategic Communications
Mary Clark / Stephen Adams / Henry Williams
Tel: +44 203 821 6420
Email: ionctura@optimumcomms.com

About iOnctura
iOnctura is a clinical-stage precision oncology company combating neglected and hard-to-treat cancers with a pipeline of first-in-class small molecules. The bold new treatments extend lives and improve healthspans, changing the outlook for patients and their families. Lead asset, roginolisib, is the first conformation-selective inhibitor targeting the inactive form of PI3Kδ. This novel binding mode allows for precise inhibition of PI3Kδ, delivering clinical activity without the detrimental tolerability seen with previous generations of inhibitors. Roginolisib is being investigated in multiple randomized Phase II studies in solid and hematological malignancies. iOnctura is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands with subsidiaries located in Geneva, Switzerland and Cambridge, MA, USA. iOnctura is backed by specialist institutional investors including Syncona, M Ventures, Inkef Capital, EIC Fund, VI Partners, Schroders Capital and XGEN Venture.

About roginolisib
Roginolisib is a non-ATP-competitive PI3Kδ inhibitor that stabilizes the catalytic C-terminal helix kα12, inducing an allosteric conformational shift that locks PI3Kδ in its inactive state and prevents ATP-mediated activation. This novel binding mode allows for precise inhibition of PI3Kδ, delivering clinical activity without the detrimental tolerability seen with previous generations of inhibitors. The PI3K signaling pathway is one of the most commonly dysregulated pathways across multiple cancer types. The potential of roginolisib has been validated by positive clinical signals in Phase I in solid tumor and hematological malignancies, including a doubling of overall survival compared to historical controls in rare eye cancer, uveal melanoma. The company has carefully designed its clinical portfolio to allow full development in uveal melanoma, while in parallel validating the program in larger market indications.

The randomized Phase II OCULE-01 study in uveal melanoma (NCT06717126) completed patient recruitment in December 2025, the PULMO-01 study in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (NCT06879717) completed recruitment in January 2026 and the HEMA-MED Phase I/II study (NCT06887803) in myelofibrosis began in November 2025 and recruitment is ongoing.