CytomX Therapeutics Appoints Rachael Lester as Chief Business Officer
Rhea-AI Summary
CytomX Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CTMX) on October 20, 2025 appointed Rachael Lester as Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer to lead strategy and business development.
The company highlighted Lester’s two decades of experience in corporate strategy, partnerships and capital formation, citing prior roles as chief business officer at Replicate Bioscience, SVP of business development at Harpoon Therapeutics (acquired by Merck), and senior roles at Bruin Biometrics and Onyx Pharmaceuticals. Management said Lester will drive partnering and expand the PROBODY® platform while supporting lead clinical assets CX-2051 and CX-801 aimed at colorectal cancer and melanoma.
Positive
- New CBO hire with 20+ years in BD and strategy
- Led financing and partnerships at Replicate Bioscience during tenure
- Structured major partnerships with AbbVie and Roche at Harpoon
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction 34 Alerts
On the day this news was published, CTMX gained 16.88%, reflecting a significant positive market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +14.4% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 34 alerts that day, indicating elevated trading interest and price volatility. This price movement added approximately $90M to the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $624M at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Leadership team addition to drive strategic long-term value creation and partnering strategy
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTMX), a leader in the field of masked, conditionally activated biologics, today announced the appointment of Rachael Lester as Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer. In this role, Ms. Lester will lead the Company’s strategy and business development functions.
“Rachael brings a wealth of experience in strategic planning and business development across the biopharmaceutical industry and joins CytomX at a time when our platform and pipeline are well positioned to deliver meaningful advances in the treatment of many cancers,” said Sean McCarthy, D.Phil., president, chief executive officer and chairman of CytomX Therapeutics. “Rachael’s expertise and leadership in delivering strategic, value-enhancing partnerships will be pivotal as we continue to prosecute our integrated business model and expand the reach of our PROBODY® platform. With her proven track record, Rachael strengthens our leadership team at a critical time for the Company. My colleagues and I look forward to working with Rachael in our collective mission to urgently advance innovative cancer therapies for patients.”
“I’m thrilled to join CytomX at such an exciting time. CytomX’s lead clinical assets, CX-2051 and CX-801, are designed to address areas of high unmet medical need including colorectal cancer and melanoma and have broad potential across many cancer types. I look forward to working with the highly dedicated team at CytomX to further unlock the value of the PROBODY® platform and build on the promise of our pipeline of masked biologics.” said Ms. Lester.
Ms. Lester joins CytomX with over two decades leading corporate strategy, business development and product portfolio planning across the life science and biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, she was Chief Business Officer at Replicate Bioscience, where she led corporate strategy, business development and capital formation. She was key in securing financing and multiple partnerships to transform the Company during her tenure. Prior to joining Replicate, Ms. Lester served as SVP of Business Development and Corporate Strategy at Harpoon Therapeutics, a novel T cell engager platform company that was later acquired by Merck, where she established and strengthened the business development strategy through major partnerships with AbbVie and Roche. Previously, Ms. Lester held senior roles in corporate strategy, portfolio management, and commercialization at Bruin Biometrics and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, now an Amgen subsidiary. Earlier in her career, she worked in Deloitte and Booz Allen Hamilton’s life sciences consulting practices, where she advised on multi-billion-dollar M&A transactions, new product planning and strategic growth initiatives. Ms. Lester received her M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and her B.A. in Neuroscience from University of Pennsylvania.
About CytomX Therapeutics, Inc.
CytomX is a clinical-stage, oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel conditionally activated, masked biologics designed to be localized to the tumor microenvironment. By pioneering a novel pipeline of localized biologics, powered by its PROBODY® therapeutic platform, CytomX’s vision is to create safer, more effective therapies for the treatment of cancer. CytomX’s multi-modality technology platform has produced therapeutic candidates across multiple treatment modalities including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), T-cell engagers, and immune modulators such as cytokines. CytomX’s current clinical-stage pipeline includes CX-2051 and CX-801. CX-2051 is a masked, conditionally activated ADC directed toward epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), armed with a topoisomerase-1 inhibitor payload. CX-2051 has potential applicability across multiple EpCAM-expressing epithelial cancers, including CRC, and was discovered in collaboration with ImmunoGen. CX-801 is a masked interferon alpha-2b PROBODY® cytokine with broad potential applicability in traditionally immuno-oncology sensitive as well as insensitive (cold) tumors. CytomX has established strategic collaborations with multiple leaders in oncology, including Amgen, Astellas, Bristol Myers Squibb, Regeneron and Moderna. For more information about CytomX and how it is working to make conditionally activated treatments the new standard-of-care in the fight against cancer, visit www.cytomx.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
Company Contact:
Chris Ogden
SVP, Chief Financial Officer
cogden@cytomx.com
Investor Contact:
Precision AQ (formerly Stern Investor Relations)
Stephanie Ascher
stephanie.ascher@precisionaq.com
Media Contact:
Redhouse Communications
Teri Dahlman
teri@redhousecomms.com
FAQ
Who is Rachael Lester and what role did CytomX (CTMX) appoint her to on October 20, 2025?
How does Rachael Lester’s background support CytomX’s strategy for CTMX’s PROBODY® platform?
Which CytomX clinical assets did the company highlight in the October 20, 2025 appointment announcement?
What prior companies and transactions are mentioned in Rachael Lester’s biography for CTMX investors?
Will Rachael Lester lead CytomX’s business development and partnering efforts for CTMX going forward?
Does the October 20, 2025 announcement signal any immediate financial guidance changes for CytomX (CTMX)?
