ImPact Biotech Appoints Dr. Eyal Morag as Chief Medical Officer

December 18, 2023—ImPact Biotech announced the appointment of Eyal Morag, MD, as Chief Medical Officer. ImPact is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing padeliporfin vascular targeted photodynamic (VTP) therapy to treat a range of solid tumors.

According to the company, Dr. Morag has experience as a practicing clinical radiologist, specializing in image-guided minimally invasive procedures, as well as extensive leadership experience developing and establishing radiology-related businesses.

“We are thrilled to announce Eyal’s appointment as our Chief Medical Officer,” commented Barak Palatchi, ImPact Biotech’s Chief Executive Officer, in the company’s press release. “With numerous years of leadership, both as a clinical radiologist and biotech entrepreneur, Dr. Morag’s background offers a rich combination that will be immeasurable as we seek to translate our vision for ImPact into reality for patients.”

ImPact’s padeliporfin VTP therapy is a minimally invasive drug-device combination for selective ablation of unresectable solid tumors. The VTP platform delivers no-thermal laser light via optical fibers to locally activate padeliporfin in the tumor microenvironment.

The company advised that padeliporfin VTP is currently being evaluated in a pivotal phase 3 study in low-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) with earlier stage studies ongoing or planned in high-grade UTUC, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Dr. Morag joins ImPact from Microbot Medical Ltd., where he served as Chief Medical Officer.

“I am pleased to be joining ImPact Biotech at this critical juncture in the company’s growth,” commented Dr. Morag in the company’s press release. “I am particularly encouraged by data from padeliporfin VTP which thus far demonstrate its potential as a minimally invasive, alternative treatment for patients whose cancer is unresectable. I look forward supporting advancement of this program through the ongoing pivotal study in UTUC and for treatment of other solid tumors.”

Currently, Dr. Morag serves in scientific and medical advisory roles at Aidoc Medical, Vortex Imaging and HighRad. Previously, he cofounded InTek Technology and Global Versa Radiology, for which he also served as Chief Medical Officer and Vice President.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Morag held leadership roles as a clinical radiologist, including Chairman of the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at Assuta Ashdod Medical Center in Ashdod, Israel; Regional Radiology Director for Mercy Health Partners in Toledo, Ohio; and Chief of Radiology at Holyoke Medical Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Dr. Morag earned his MD from the Boston University School of Medicine and completed a fellowship in Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He is certified both by the American Board of Radiology and the Israeli Ministry of Health, noted the ImPact press release.