Rockville, MD, Jan. 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MacroGenics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, as well as autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases, today announced the expansion of its Board of Directors to eight members and the appointments of Karen J. Ferrante, M.D., and Scott Jackson to fill the newly created vacancies. Dr. Ferrante will serve on the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee of the Board and Mr. Jackson will serve on the Compensation Committee of the Board.

Dr. Ferrante, a hematologist-oncologist, most recently served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Tokai Pharmaceuticals and brings over 20 years of oncology drug development experience to the Board. Prior to Tokai, Dr. Ferrante held several senior level positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and parent company Takeda Pharmaceuticals, including Oncology Therapeutic Area Head, Takeda Cambridge Site Head and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Ferrante has also previously held positons of increasing responsibility at Pfizer Global Research and Development and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Ferrante holds an M.D. from Georgetown University and completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at New England Deaconess Hospital (now part of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology. She currently serves as a member of the boards of Progenics Pharmaceuticals and the New England Women in Science Executives Club.

Mr. Jackson served as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from April 2008 until July 2016, when the company was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc. Mr. Jackson has more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and has held positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and commercial development at Eli Lilly & Co., SmithKline Beecham, ImClone Systems Inc., Centocor Inc., a division of Johnson & Johnson, Eximias Pharmaceutical and YM BioSciences. Mr. Jackson holds a B.S. in pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science and an M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Jackson serves as chairman of the board of trustees of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society®.

“As our pipeline continues to expand and mature, we are pleased to add the development and commercialization expertise of both Dr. Ferrante and Mr. Jackson,” said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of MacroGenics. “Our team will greatly benefit from their contributions and guidance as we continue to advance our potential treatment options for patients with cancer, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.”

About MacroGenics, Inc.

MacroGenics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, as well as autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. The Company generates its pipeline of product candidates primarily from its proprietary suite of next-generation antibody-based technology platforms. The combination of MacroGenics’ technology platforms and protein engineering expertise has allowed the Company to generate promising product candidates and enter into several strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For more information, please see the Company’s website at www.macrogenics.com. MacroGenics and the MacroGenics logo are registered trademarks of MacroGenics, Inc.