Primary Job Title CEO Primary Organization 
Actagene Oncology
Location San Diego, California, United States Regions Greater San Diego Area, West Coast, Western US Gender Male
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Patrick O’Connor joined Ignyta after its acquisition of Actagene Oncology, Inc., which he co-founded in February 2013 and served as Chief Executive Officer.
In early 2009, Dr. O’Connor co-founded Selexagen Therapeutics, where as Chief Scientific Officer he led the development of a RAF Inhibitor Program that was acquired by Ruga Corporation in
2012.
Along with the acquisition, Dr. O’Connor joined Ruga as a consultant Head of Oncology and integrated the RAF Inhibitor Program into the overall Ruga research pipeline.
In February 2013, Dr. O’Connor transitioned to become a Scientific Advisory Board member at Ruga to focus on co-founding Actagene with Jonathan Lim, M.D. Dr. O’Connor joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1998 as Head of the Oncology Research Division at Agouron/Warner-Lambert and became a Pfizer employee through the company’s acquisition by Pfizer. Dr. O’Connor has had a long and successful career in the field of oncology drug discovery and development. His contributions include over 100 publications and patents and over 20 compounds brought into development, including the recently approved anticancer drugs Xalkori (Crizotinib) and Inlyta (Axitinib), discovered at Pfizer where Dr. O’Connor served as the Global Research Therapeutic Area Head for Oncology. Several additional investigative agents that Dr. O’Connor helped bring into early clinical development are currently undergoing trials in cancer patients, including PF-1367338 (PARP, PII, Pfizer/Clovis), PF-3446962 (Anti-ALK mAb, PI, Pfizer).
After leaving Pfizer, Dr. O’Connor contributed to the Oncology programs at Ardea Biosciences and Halozyme Therapeutics that culminated in clinical trial starts on RDEA119 (MEK inhibitor, Licensed to Bayer, now in Phase II) and PEGPH20 (Phase II, Halozyme).
Prior to joining industry, Dr. O’Connor spent 10 years at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland where he was a Fogarty International Fellow investigating the molecular underpinnings of chemosensitivity.
He is also a Senior Editor of a leading oncology journal, Cancer Research, and serves on several Scientific Advisory Boards, including Molecular Response, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals and Ruga Corporation.
Dr. O’Connor also retains a board seat at Selexagen Therapeutics. He gained his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester in England where he was a Venborough Scholar.
