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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IGM Biosciences, Inc. (IGM), a privately held biotechnology company and a global leader in the research and development of therapeutic IgM antibodies, today announced the appointment of Julie Hambleton, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Hambleton has more than 25 years of academic and industry experience, including 15 years as a leader in preclinical and clinical development at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Five Prime Therapeutics, Clovis Oncology and Genentech. Currently Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Development at IDEAYA Biosciences, Dr. Hambleton has broad experience across all stages of drug development and was a leader in the successful development of Avastin^® and Rubraca^®.

"Julie has been at the forefront of some of the most significant advances in oncology/immuno-oncology and hematology, serving as a highly respected medical director and clinical development leader for early-stage companies as well as for some of the most recognized biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies involved in cancer research today," said Fred Schwarzer, Chief Executive Officer of IGM Biosciences. "Her tremendous wealth of experience leading preclinical and clinical operations and strategy, combined with her global regulatory and post-marketing development experience, will be a significant asset, providing IGM with a broad perspective as we advance our pipeline of IgM oncology antibodies into the clinic, and we look forward to her leadership and guidance as a member of our Board of Directors."    

"IGM Biosciences is pioneering an entirely new approach to treating cancer with the development of IgM antibodies that have the potential to significantly expand and advance our current oncology treatment options," said Dr. Hambleton. "Preclinical observations with IGM's proprietary IgM antibodies suggest that their novel approach to creating high-avidity IgM antibodies may allow for the successful treatment of a broad range of cancer patients for whom traditional IgG antibodies and other drugs have failed. I have had the privilege to work with some of the industry's most groundbreaking research and development teams, and I am very excited to be joining IGM as a member of its Board as the company advances its technology toward the clinic."

Dr. Hambleton currently serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Development for IDEAYA Biosciences, an oncology-focused biotechnology company. Prior to IDEAYA, Dr. Hambleton was Vice President and Head of U.S. Medical Affairs Research and Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she was responsible for U.S. medical affairs for immuno-oncology/oncology, immunoscience, cardiovascular and virology products, managing a team of 350 employees. At Five Prime Therapeutics, she led preclinical and clinical development, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, and she was a member of the IPO and follow-on financing teams. She was also Vice President of Clinical Development at Clovis Oncology. Dr. Hambleton began her career in the biotechnology industry in 2003 at Genentech as Medical Director for the Avastin program. While at Genentech, Dr. Hambleton served in positions of increasing responsibility, overseeing exploratory clinical development for the company's antiangiogenic pipeline, expansion of Avastin's clinical program to support approval of Avastin for renal-cell carcinoma and glioblastoma, and she was most recently Group Medical Director of Global Clinical Development, BioOncology, leading the global, cross-functional team responsible for successful clinical trial execution and multiple marketing authorization applications for the Avastin Breast/Ovarian-GYN program.

Dr. Hambleton completed her medical and oncology-hematology training at the University of California, San Francisco, where she then served on faculty until 2003. She received a B.S. from Duke University and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and she is an author or co-author of more than 50 scientific publications.

About IGM Biosciences, Inc.
Headquartered in Mountain View, California, IGM Biosciences, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company that has been dedicated since 2010 to creating and developing novel IgM antibodies that improve the treatment of cancer and other diseases. IGM Biosciences is focused on developing and utilizing IgM antibodies in those clinical indications where their inherent advantages may provide substantially superior performance, as compared with IgG antibodies. For more information about IGM Biosciences, its technologies or its antibody pipeline, please visit www.igmbio.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcome of events, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. The information contained in this press release is believed to be current as of the date of original issue. IGM Biosciences expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

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SOURCE IGM Biosciences, Inc.