Calithera BioSciences Inc. has hired Sumita Ray as senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer, the company announced last week. Ray comes to the pharmaceutical company from Pharmacyclics, where she served as head of health care and regulatory law.

Ray's practice will focus on U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory law; global health care and compliance; brand support and product launches, collaborations and alliances. Prior to joining Pharmacyclics in 2013, Ray oversaw the bioneurology and regulatory law group at Elan Pharmaceuticals. She has also served in-house at Genentech Inc. and AstraZeneca. She began her legal career as a pharmaceutical and products liability litigator at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia.

Calithera BioSciences, based in South San Francisco, is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that specializes in the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancerous tumors. The company was founded in 2010 and has 50 employees, according to Bloomberg LP.

Ray holds a B.S. in microbiology from the University of Arizona and a J.D. from Temple University's Beasley School of Law, according to the company.

A company spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Ray's hire, including whether she is the first person to hold the top lawyer position at Calithera.

Contact reporter Kristen Rasmussen at [email protected].