Naseem Zojwalla

Naseem Zojwalla led the global development program for avelumab (Bavencio) in Merkel cell carcinoma, which resulted in the first FDA approval of a checkpoint inhibitor for any skin cancer, initially as second-line therapy for metastatic MCC. The JAVELIN Merkel 200 trial demonstrated durable objective responses of 33% in pre-treated patients, many of which were sustained beyond two years. She oversaw the expansion of the avelumab MCC label to first-line metastatic disease and has worked on rare cancer drug development strategies for ultra-orphan indications.