Ross Hannan

Ross Hannan led the development of CX-5461, the first RNA polymerase I inhibitor to enter clinical trials in cancer, demonstrating that targeting ribosome biogenesis at the level of rDNA transcription selectively kills cancer cells while sparing normal tissue. His work showed that MYC-driven cancers are exquisitely dependent on Pol I activity and hypersensitive to CX-5461. He has advanced CX-5461 through Phase I clinical trials in hematologic malignancies with promising responses. His research has validated ribosome biogenesis as a therapeutic target in oncology.