Delphia Therapeutics Appoints David P. Kerstein, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Delphia Therapeutics, Inc. (Delphia), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering an innovative new area of cancer biology – activation lethality – which targets cancer's surprising vulnerability to oncogene overactivation, today announced the appointment of David P. Kerstein, M.D., as chief medical officer. Dr. Kerstein brings significant experience in oncology drug development across early- and late-stage precision oncology programs.

“David is an accomplished physician-scientist and biotechnology leader with a strong track record of advancing innovative precision oncology therapies through clinical development,” said Kevin Marks, Ph.D., co-founder, president and CEO of Delphia. “As we continue to advance activation lethality as a novel therapeutic approach, David’s leadership will be instrumental in shaping our clinical strategy and accelerating the development of potentially transformative therapies for patients with cancer.”

“The biology underlying activation lethality represents an exciting, novel and differentiated opportunity in oncology with the potential to address significant unmet patient needs,” said Dr. Kerstein. “I am excited to join Delphia at this important stage of growth and help advance a pipeline designed to exploit cancer-specific vulnerabilities in entirely new ways.”

Dr. Kerstein most recently served as chief medical officer of IDRx, a clinical-stage precision oncology company, before its acquisition by GSK in 2025. Prior to joining IDRx, Dr. Kerstein was chief medical officer of Theseus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Before Theseus, Dr. Kerstein was chief medical officer of Anchiano Therapeutics Ltd. Prior to these roles, Dr. Kerstein served as senior medical director in oncology clinical research and lung cancer clinical portfolio strategy lead at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and senior medical director of clinical research at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Takeda in 2017) where he led the clinical development of ALUNBRIG®. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kerstein served as director of clinical development and regulatory affairs at Boston Biomedical, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. Ltd.

Dr. Kerstein holds an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine and received a B.S. in Biology from Tufts University.

About Delphia Therapeutics

Delphia Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering activation lethality, an innovative new area of cancer therapeutics that target cancer's surprising vulnerability to oncogene overactivation. Delphia’s activation lethality platform offers the potential for first-in-class, targeted cancer medicines that are effective on their own while also combating the emergence of drug resistance to classic targeted therapies. Delphia is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, is supported by leading life sciences investors including GV, Nextech Invest, Polaris Partners, Alexandria Venture Investments and Taiho Ventures. For more information, please visit us at www.delphiatx.com and follow us on LinkedIn.