Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ: PHIO), a biotechnology company developing the next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary self-delivering RNAi therapeutic platform, announced yesterday that it has named Dr John A Barrett as its new chief development officer, effective 22 April 2019.

Dr Barrett has accumulated more than 25 years of experience working in research and development and is an expert in developing cell-based immuno-oncology therapies. Prior to joining Phio, he spent eight years at Ziopharm Oncology Inc, most recently serving as the vice president of R&D and Translational Medicine. He was responsible for medical and clinical pharmacology, and all R&D activities from Discovery to Phase two clinical trials.

Dr Gerrit Dispersyn, president and CEO of Phio Pharmaceuticals, said, 'I am delighted to welcome John to Phio. John is a seasoned and passionate leader who brings a wealth of experience developing immuno-oncology gene and cell therapies. His expertise in driving drug discovery and development in areas similar to Phio's current R&D focus, will be invaluable as we continue to develop our self-delivering RNAi platform into innovative immuno-oncology therapeutics. I am thrilled to have someone of John's calibre join our team, which is a testimony to the value we have developed thus far, and the potential our pipeline holds.'