Tolero Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Listen to Dr David Bearss discuss Halia’s work on Alzheimer’s and other inflammation-related diseases https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-dave-bearss-co-founder-ceo-of-halia-on-pioneering/id1482108463?i=1000671780322 Explore the forefront of biotech innovation as host Rahul Chaturvedi interviews Dr. David Bearss, Co-Founder & CEO of Halia Therapeutics, in this engaging episode of Biotech 2050. Dr. Bearss shares the story behind Halia’s pioneering genetic discoveries and their mission to tackle Alzheimer’s disease. Learn about the science driving breakthrough therapies that target neuroinflammation, offering hope in the fight against neurodegenerative disorders. Packed with insights and inspiration, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of healthcare and biotech innovation. Biography: Dr. David J. Bearss, a serial entrepreneur and pharmaceutical innovator, has over two decades of experience spanning academic and industrial roles. His expertise lies at the intersection of structure-based small-molecule drug discovery and the utilization of genetic model systems for drug discovery. Dr. Bearss’s career is marked by significant achievements, with a strong foundation in translational research focused on drug advancement to the clinic and using genetic markers for predictive drug sensitivity. Notably, Dr. Bearss has discovered 16 compounds that have successfully navigated from discovery in the lab to IND into clinical development. His entrepreneurial experience is evident through his roles as the co-founder of eight biotechnology companies. More importantly, his unwavering commitment to advancing novel drug development truly sets him apart. Before taking on his role as chief scientific officer at Halia in January 2021 and assuming the CEO position in March 2022, Dr. Bearss served as the CEO of Tolero Pharmaceuticals, an organization later acquired by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma in 2017. His tenure as chief scientific officer at Montigen Pharmaceuticals, followed by its acquisition by SuperGen Inc., demonstrates his dedication to driving early-stage drug discovery and development. At SuperGen, he continued to develop his expertise in these critical areas. Dr. Bearss’s academic career is equally impressive. It led to his founding role as the Center for Investigational Therapeutics Co-Director at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He also held academic positions as an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah and as an Associate Professor of Physiology and Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University, demonstrating his deep knowledge and expertise in these fields. Dr. Bearss’s academic career began with a Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for Drug Development at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center also in Texas. He has won several awards for his entrepreneurial and scientific achievements, including the Utah Governor’s Medal of Science and BIO Utah Entrepreneur of the Year.

The last year has demonstrated that a sound financing strategy and compelling company narrative are essential to securing funding – it’s become more important than ever that investors are excited before taking the plunge. Given the current economic environment that is causing challenges in biopharma, how should companies be approaching funding in 2024? Listen to this discussion on different kinds of funding options available, how companies can optimize their chances to secure funding and how they should be assessing VCs in addition to alternative partners – particularly if your company will be seeking funding at JPM this January. Our host and guests also discuss current challenges, how to weather adversity, and what investment trends are anticipated for next year. This roundtable discussion occurs Thursday, January 4. Subscribe below to receive an update with a link to the video the morning it goes live. By submitting your email address, you agree to receive communications from BioSpace. PANELISTS Jeff Burton | Halia Therapeutics | CFO Jeff Burton joined Halia Therapeutics as the Chief Financial Officer in December 2020. ‌Prior to coming to Halia, Jeff was with Tolero Pharmaceuticals where he helped guide the company through several rounds of funding, the acquisition of Tolero by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma for $200 million upfront and $500 million in milestones, and provided support for the successful filing of five INDs and completion of nine clinical trials. ‌Prior to Tolero, Jeff was at Fusion-io, where he helped the company successfully complete its IPO, secondary offering, several acquisitions, key system implementations, and the eventual acquisition of Fusion-io by SanDisk for more than $1.1 billion. ‌Jeff holds Bachelor and Master of Accounting degrees from the University of Utah. Karen Harris | The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation | CFO and Head of Mission-Related Investing Karen Harris is a member of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s executive team and serves as its Chief Financial Officer and Head of Mission Related Investments. ‌With a CFO background that spans both non-profits and investment banking, Ms. Harris is committed to increasing transparency and accessibility of complex financial information and heightening organizational effectiveness with robust financial governance, strategic planning, policies, controls, and training. She regularly presents to the ADDF’s Boards of Governors and Overseers, launched a board-level Finance and Audit Committee, and oversees the organization’s banking relationships. As Head of Mission Related Investments, Ms. Harris has also structured and stewarded dozens of venture-based investments for the ADDF, and she manages and monitors its extensive portfolio of securities and royalty arrangements with universities and biotech companies. ‌Previously, Ms. Harris served as Chief Financial Officer for the East Harlem Tutorial Program and Director of Development at Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. She also led a career in the financial sector for 20+ years prior to her transition to non-profit leadership. Among other roles, Ms. Harris served as Global COO for global equity capital markets, a $1 billion dollar division with 190 bankers at UBS, and as a Director and investment banker at Merrill Lynch. She earned an MBA in Finance from Stanford Graduate School of Business, graduating first in her class, and a BA in Economics from Columbia University. Rob Williamson | Triumvira Immunologics | President and COO Robert F. Williamson, III has been active in building biotechnology companies and shareholder value for over two decades. He currently is the President and COO of Triumvira Immunologics. Previously, he was the CBO of OncoMyx, an oncolytic virus company, and CEO of BioTheryX, a protein degradation therapeutics company, raising a $100M crossover round and preparing the company for an IPO. Prior to BioTheryX, Mr. Williamson served as CEO of both PharmAkea and ATXCo, oncology and fibrosis companies financed through a partnership with Celgene, until PharmAkea’s acquisition by Galecto and ATXCo’s acquisition by Blade Therapeutics. Prior, Mr. Williamson was CEO of Arriva Pharmaceuticals, President and COO of Eos Biotechnology, which he sold to Protein Design Labs, and COO of DoubleTwist, Inc. through its acquisition by Merck and Hitachi. ‌Mr. Williamson also serves as a director and adviser for foundations, private, and public companies. Notably, Mr. Williamson served as an early Director of Pharmasset, Inc., where he helped finance, grow, and advance the company into the public markets and through its acquisition by Gilead in 2011 for $11 billion. Earlier, Mr. Williamson was a partner with The Boston Consulting Group and a research assistant for the Federal Reserve Board. He received a BA in economics from Pomona College and an MBA from Stanford. HOST ⁠⁠⁠⁠Lori Ellis⁠⁠⁠ | BioSpace | Head of Insights Lori is the head of insights at BioSpace. She analyzes and comments on industry trends for BioSpace and clients. She creates engaging content for clients to support their marketing objectives. She has been part of an award-winning marketing team and has won a Muse Creative award, a Vega award and several Adobe awards in collaborative team projects for her audio narration work. Her experience in the television/film and audio industries benefits both BioSpace and partners through her moderation and hosting of live and virtual events. While she has covered all elements of the drug development process, her current focus is on the ever-evolving impact of technology – specifically artificial intelligence – on the pharmaceutical industry.⁠

None  Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Max Bayer or Gabrielle Masson, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.  Google DeepMind vet to join GSK as VP of artificial intelligence GSK  Bolstered by the recent ascension of Chat GPT and natural language models, incorporating artificial intelligence into drug development has been all the rage as of late. British pharma GSK is no exception and has made a critical hire to flesh out its efforts.  The company has brought on Danielle Belgrave as vice president of artificial intelligence and machine learning. She was most recently at Google DeepMind, creating the health division with the deep learning unit. Her appointment was announced by Occam, the recruiting firm that helped bring her on.  It’s actually Belgrave’s second stint with the company, having been a principal statistician with GSK for just less than a year in 2015. Now, less than 10 years later, she returns as an executive. In between, she spent four years as a research fellow in biomedical modeling at Imperial College London and a little more than three and a half years at Microsoft. Release  Novartis radiopharma leader takes top job at Y-mAbs Y-mAbs Michael Rossi, who helped steer the U.S. business for Novartis’ radiopharma arm, has been named the new CEO of Y-mAbs Therapeutics. He’ll start Nov. 6. Rossi spent more than three years at Novartis from 2019 to 2022, first as a general manger for the U.S. business of Advanced Accelerator Applications, Novartis’ radiopharmaceutical division, before becoming head of radioligand imaging. He left in July 2022, becoming president of Mirion Medical a few months later in October. The unit’s work centers on developing imaging products and products that help improve radiation therapy.  His new gig will take him from diagnostics and medical tools to actual drug development. Y-mAbs has been developing cancer-fighting antibodies, including FDA-approved Danyelza for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. The biotech is also developing the drug as a treatment for relapsed second-line osteosarcoma. In addition to Rossi’s hiring, Y-mAbs co-founder, Thomas Gad, who’s been serving as interim CEO since last year, is being named chief business officer and VP of the board. His previous title, before adding on interim CEO duties, was president and head of business development and strategy. Release Genentech vet tapped to be CMO of Cargo Cargo Therapeutics Clinical-stage biotech Cargo Therapeutics is bringing on Genentech vet Ginna Laport, M.D., to be chief medical officer, a critical hire as the company proceeds with a potentially pivotal phase 2 trial for its lead asset.  Laport was previously the vice president and head of global development for lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia at Genentech, a role she held for nearly four years. Prior to that, she was the chief medical officer of Tempest Therapeutics. Before jumping to industry, Laport spent 14 years on the faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine focused on hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplants.  Cargo is working on a couple of cell therapies, namely CRG-022, which is in a phase 2 trial to treat patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma who previously tried a CD19-targeting cell therapy. Release > Flagship Pioneering’s Senda Biosciences and Laronde are merging into Sail Biomedicines. The new vessel will be helmed by Flagship CEO-Partner and Senda CEO Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D., while Flagship Executive Partner John Mendlein, Ph.D., will serve as Sail’s executive chair. Fierce Biotech > Epic Bio has elected Weston Miller, M.D., to be the company’s chief medical officer, starting Oct. 23. Miller joins from Graphite Bio and has held roles at Astellas Gene Therapies and Sangamo Therapeutics. Release > Pliant Therapeutics has picked S. Mishima Gerhart as chief regulatory officer. She comes to Pliant from Taysha Gene Therapies and has previously held roles at Sanofi, Genzyme AbbVie, Reata Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Wyeth. Release > Genascence has grabbed Ian Lachlan (Lachy) McLean, M.D., Ph.D., to serve as chief medical officer. Before joining the gene therapy company, the rheumatologist was Novome’s CMO and has held roles of increasing seniority at AstraZeneca, Merck, Genentech, Takeda and Travere. Release > Summit Therapeutics has selected Manmeet Soni to be the company’s chief operating officer. Already a member of Summit’s board, Soni joins from Reata Pharmaceuticals up to its $7.5 billion acquisition by Biogen, where he was president, COO and chief financial officer. Release > Cartherics has chosen Walid Azar, Ph.D., to serve as chief scientific officer. Before joining the cancer biotech, he was a molecular biologist at CSL, where he was part of the international R&D team. Release > RegCell has tapped Michael McCullar, Ph.D., as its new president, CEO and representative director. McCullar previously served as the CEO of OnQuality Pharmaceuticals and has held leadership roles at Tolero Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma), Astex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals) and SuperGen. Release > Bob Lechleider, M.D., is joining Immunome as the company’s chief medical officer. Before Immunome, Lechleider was CMO at OncoResponse and SVP of clinical development for Seagen. Release > Catalyst Pharmaceuticals will be helmed by Richard Daly at the turn of the new year as founder, Chair and CEO Patrick McEnany retires Dec. 31. Daly most recently served as president of CARsgen Therapeutics Corporation and has held past leadership roles at Beyond Springs and Neuralstem. Release