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Rising through challenges
Brenda joined Exelixis more than ten years ago to negotiate clinical trial and research contracts. Shortly after, a key trial failed, triggering significant staff reductions and leaving the legal department with just two people.“ I was one of the people retained,” she remembers.“ From there, I took on many responsibilities.” Over the years that followed, she built the intellectual property and transactional teams. Exelixis formalised her promotion to General Counsel in 2025.
Today, Brenda guides the legal side of product development, commercialization, partnerships and litigation. Much of her work focuses on Exelixis’ oncology portfolio and the systems required to deliver treatments safely and effectively. Cabozantinib remains central to that strategy. With annual income from net product revenue and royalties, Exelixis reinvests a significant portion in research on new therapies and next-generation cancer treatments.
Next in the pipeline is zanzalintinib, a novel oral kinase inhibitor currently being developed for the treatment of advanced solid tumors, including colorectal cancer( CRC), kidney cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, and meningioma.“ We recently submitted our first New Drug Application for zanzalintinib, which is intended as a treatment option for patients with late-stage CRC,” Brenda explains. The FDA accepted the New Drug Application for zanzalintinib with atezolizumab in February 2026, based on data from the phase 3 STELLAR-303 pivotal trial showing statistically significant improvements in overall survival versus regorafenib in pretreated patients
▼ Brenda Hefti
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