Gail D. Lewis

Company: Genentech

Job title: Principal Scientist, Discovery Oncology

Bio:

I head a translational research lab in Discovery Oncology at Genentech that investigates cell membrane receptors as targets for development of cancer therapeutics, with emphasis on the HER2/erbB2 pathway. Our early research efforts focused on biology and preclinical development of anti-HER2 antibodies for HER2-amplified breast cancer. This work contributed to the development and approval of both Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab. Subsequently, we developed antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) designed to selectively deliver potent cytotoxic agents to HER2-positive tumor cells, resulting in approval of Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) for HER2-positive early and metastatic breast cancer. We are currently exploring use of T-DM1 in other cancers that overexpress HER2 as well as investigating new HER2-directed ADCs utilizing cytotoxic agents with different mechanisms of action. We have since expanded our studies on ADCs to include exploration of different targets, different antibody formats and novel drugs for potential new ADCs.