Rakovina appoints Dr. Ranjit Bindra to scientific board

Vancouver-based Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V:RKV) announced the appointment of Dr. Ranjit Bindra to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Bindra, who directs the Yale Brain Tumor Center and holds a professorship at Yale School of Medicine, has a distinguished track record in biotechnology. He co-founded Modifi Biosciences, which was later acquired by Merck in 2024.

Dr. Bindra's lab discovered that IDH1/2-mutant cancers possess a DNA repair defect, making them susceptible to PARP inhibition—a finding published in prestigious journals like Nature, Nature Genetics, and Science Translational Medicine. Currently, he oversees a 35-site Phase II trial assessing the PARP inhibitor olaparib in IDH1/2-mutant solid tumors.

Rakovina Therapeutics also received a tax refund of $920,846.10 from the Canada Revenue Agency, earmarked for advancing its pipeline, including the testing of the kt-5000AI dual ATR/mTOR inhibitor and ongoing collaboration with Variational AI. The company granted 2,910,500 stock options to its consultants, employees, officers, and directors, with each option exercisable at $0.20 per share and vesting quarterly over a year.

Joining existing members Dr. Dennis Brown, Prof. Petra Hamerlik, Prof. Artem Cherkasov, and Dr. Leonard Post, Dr. Bindra's addition strengthens Rakovina Therapeutics' scientific advisory board, dedicated to developing cancer treatments targeting the DNA-damage response through AI platforms.