Inspirna, Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Meliora Therapeutics (“Meliora”), a machine learning therapeutics company developing novel and transformative cancer drugs, today announced the appointment of Dieter Weinand, former Chairman and CEO of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, as Meliora’s Chairman of the Board, and the appointment of Jean-Jacques Bienaimé, former Chairman and CEO of BioMarin, to Meliora’s Board of Directors as Independent Director. “We are thrilled to have Dieter Weinand and Jean-Jacques Bienaimé join Meliora’s Board of Directors,” stated David Li, Meliora co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Their expertise and leadership in drug development will be incredible assets to our company. I look forward to working closely with both to further Meliora’s vision of being the world’s leading machine learning oncology therapeutics company.” Dieter Weinand is an experienced business leader with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and the former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bayer Pharmaceuticals. During a career stretching back over 30 years, he has held various responsibilities in general management, commercial, operational and strategic leadership roles, leading business operations in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the United States, for companies including Bayer, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Sanofi. He has also led the development, launch, and commercialization of products in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular diseases, oncology, dermatology, immunology, and respiratory and inflammatory diseases. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Replimune (REPL), Umoja, and Inspirna, and Executive Chairman of the Board of Mnemo Therapeutics. He earned an M.S. in pharmacology and toxicology from Long Island University, New York, and a B.A. in biology from Concordia College, New York. “I am very pleased to become Chairman of the Board for Meliora, a company which has the potential to make a significant clinical difference in cancer patients’ lives using its novel machine learning powered approach. I look forward to working together with David and the Meliora team to advance the company through its next stages of growth and to achieve its strategic business and pipeline objectives,” Mr. Weinand commented. Mr. Jean-Jacques Bienaimé has over three decades of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, most recently serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioMarin Pharmaceuticals. He joined BioMarin in May 2005, when the company had a single marketed product and approximately $26 million in annual revenues. Under Mr. Bienaimé's leadership, BioMarin grew significantly, from about 300 US-only employees to more than 3,400 people in almost 80 countries around the world and over $2.4 billion in sales in 2023. Biomarin received 8 drug approvals by the FDA during this time period. Before joining BioMarin, Mr. Bienaimé spent years in similar executive roles at other pharmaceutical and biotech companies and currently serves on the board of directors for Incyte, Immunome, Owkin, and Keros. Mr. Bienaimé studied economics at the École de Commerce de Paris and received an M.B.A from the University of Pennsylvania. “I am excited to join the Meliora Board of Directors as they endeavor to bring transformative oncology therapeutics to the patients most in need through their ML-powered approach,” commented Mr. Bienaimé. “In my career, focusing on patients while leveraging the latest technology has been critical to success, and Meliora is highly aligned in this approach. I look forward to enhancing Meliora’s ability to execute on its compelling vision.” About Meliora Therapeutics Meliora Therapeutics is discovering and developing small molecule oncology therapies for high value cancer targets with its proprietary machine learning powered platform, AnchorOmics. Pairing the first multimodal, mechanism-of-action machine learning algorithm and a world-class team of scientists and engineers, Meliora is pioneering a novel approach to create life-changing therapies for cancer patients. San Francisco and Cambridge-based Meliora Therapeutics has raised $11 million to date and is led by leaders from the fields of AI, biotechnology, and drug discovery. For more information, please visit: www.melioratx.com

Pictured: A building at the headquarters of Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany iStock/Anne Czichos Merck KGaA has axed BTK inhibitor evobrutinib for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, the pharma noted in its fourth quarter 2023 results on Thursday. CEO Belén Garijo said during an investor call that the program has been officially terminated. In December 2023, the company announced that two of its Phase III trials investigating the safety and efficacy of evobrutinib did not reach the primary endpoints of reducing annualized relapse rates in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the termination did not seem to dissuade Garijo on the call. She noted that the company feels “pretty solid and good about our positioning in healthcare despite the setback with evobrutinib.” Garijo mentioned that termination costs were €95 million ($103.8 million). However, this is a one-time payment. She also said there would be no prelaunch costs for evobrutinib as last year. Merck KGaA has run into previous roadblocks regarding its BTK inhibitor. In April 2023, the FDA put a clinical hold on the Phase III trial after two MS patients showed signs of liver injury. At the time, the hold did not allow the company to enroll new patients into the trial, and the dosing of participants who had been treated with the drug for less than 70 days was stopped. BTK inhibitors as a drug class have also run into speedbumps. Just prior to Merck KGaA’s Phase III failures, Roche’s BTK inhibitor for MS was given a clinical hold by the FDA over some potential cases of liver injury. Specifically, two patients enrolled in Roche’s Phase III study of fenebrutinib experienced abnormal elevations in hepatic transaminase levels after receiving the doses. Other partial clinical holds from the FDA have been placed on other BTK inhibitors. Merck KGaA, in the meantime, has been looking to other horizons in its research efforts. In January 2023, the company expanded its colorectal cancer portfolio by licensing two assets from Inspirna for $45 million upfront. On Monday, the German company also paid $16 million upfront to C4 Therapeutics, who could see over $740 million in potential milestone payments, to form a research collaboration to discover two targeted protein degraders against “critical oncogenic proteins.” Tyler Patchen is a staff writer at BioSpace. You can reach him at tyler.patchen@biospace.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.

MONTREAL, March 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Find Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies for autoimmune diseases, today announced that Anthony Johnson, MBBS, MD has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors effective March 4, 2024. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am delighted to welcome Tony to the team," said Philippe Douville, President and CEO of Find Therapeutics. "Tony's deep clinical experience, particularly in early clinical development, coupled with his extensive network in the life-sciences industry will make him an invaluable member of the Find Therapeutics Board as we advance our remyelinating agent, FTX-101, and prepare to enter the clinic this year." Dr. Johnson brings over 25 years of academic, industry and venture experience. He currently serves as President and CEO of Domain Therapeutics, Chairman of the Board for Outrun Therapeutics and Board Director for Nanosyrinx. Dr. Johnson was previously President and CEO of Goldfinch Bio and, prior to that, Head of Early Clinical Development. He also served as Chief Medical Officer of the Innovative Medicines and Early Development Biotech Unit at AstraZeneca. Previously, he was a venture partner at OrbiMed Advisors and, prior to that, held several industry positions including Vice President, Discovery Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), and Vice President, Discovery Medicine at GlaxoSmithKline. He was also a Founding Director of the Glaxo Wellcome Medicines Research Unit and has held various board positions at AstraZeneca, Rgenix and Cardioxyl (later acquired by BMS). Dr. Johnson has had multiple fellowships including with Homerton College, Cambridge University, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Rowden White Trust. He is a board-certified physician in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology, and maintains an active medical license in the US. Dr. Johnson earned his MBBS and MD from the University of New South Wales and his MPH from the University of Queensland. "Find Therapeutics is developing a novel and potentially paradigm-changing therapeutic," said Dr. Johnson. "I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to help leverage Find's strengths to advance and optimize the pipeline." Find Therapeutics also announces that Pascal Neuville, Ph.D., has stepped down from the board as a Non-Executive Director effective March 3, 2024. Dr. Douville, President and CEO, added: "We would like to warmly thank Pascal for his years of contribution and support. We are grateful to have worked with him and wish him well in his future endeavors." About Find Find Therapeutics is dedicated to the development of next generation therapies to treat inflammatory autoimmune diseases. The company was launched in 2020 with investments from CTI Life Sciences, adMare BioInnovations and Domain Therapeutics and an exclusive license from Strasbourg University on a technology and related know-how initially developed by Dr. Dominique Bagnard. Visit for more details about Find Therapeutics. SOURCE Find Therapeutics Inc.