ALX Oncology appoints board member Klencke as interim CMO

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO - ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXO) announced Friday that Dr. Barbara Klencke has been appointed as Interim Chief Medical Officer, stepping down from her position on the company’s board of directors to take on the full-time role. According to InvestingPro data, ALX Oncology, currently valued at $63 million, maintains a strong liquidity position with a current ratio of 4.52x, though the company faces significant cash burn challenges.

Dr. Alan Sandler, who has been serving as CMO, will return to his previous position on the company’s board, according to the press release statement.

Klencke brings over 30 years of experience in patient care, academic research, and clinical drug development in hematology and oncology. She previously served as CMO of Sierra Oncology from 2015 until its acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline in 2022.

"As a current member of our board of directors, she can immediately step into the Interim CMO role to implement our focused development strategy across both the evorpacept and ALX2004 clinical programs," said Jason Lettmann, Chief Executive Officer at ALX Oncology.

Klencke joined ALX Oncology’s board in January 2025 and has held executive leadership roles at various biotech companies including Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Genentech. Before entering the biotechnology industry, she served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

ALX Oncology is developing evorpacept, a CD47 blocker, and ALX2004, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted antibody-drug conjugate. The company initiated a Phase 1 trial for ALX2004 in August 2025.

Klencke also serves as an independent board director of Xencor and TScan Therapeutics.

In other recent news, ALS Oncology Holdings reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, revealing an earnings per share (EPS) of -0.49 USD. This result fell short of the forecasted -0.43 USD, indicating a miss on analyst expectations. Additionally, ALX Oncology Holdings has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial for its antibody-drug conjugate, ALX2004, targeting EGFR-expressing solid tumors. The trial is significant as it marks the first-in-human evaluation of ALX2004, focusing on patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer. These developments reflect the company’s ongoing efforts in advancing its clinical pipeline amid financial challenges. While the earnings miss might concern investors, the commencement of the clinical trial could potentially offer future opportunities for the company. The trial’s progress will be closely monitored by stakeholders. These recent developments highlight ALS Oncology Holdings’ current financial and research activities.

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