Vega Therapeutics, Inc.

Company expands board of directors and appoints Matthew Fust as independent director Building on positive clinical results for its lead antibody candidate, Electra is positioned to expand therapeutic opportunities in immunological diseases and cancer SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electra Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing antibody therapies against novel targets for immunological diseases and cancer, today announced the appointment of Kathy Dong, PharmD, MBA, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Dong assumes this leadership role as Electra achieves positive clinical results for its lead drug candidate, ELA026, for the treatment of the life-threatening inflammatory disease, secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: Electra President and CEO Kathy Dong PharmD, MBA (Photo: Business Wire) “We are excited to have Kathy take on the role of CEO of Electra. I have had the privilege of working with Kathy across multiple companies and seen her track record of success in advancing novel therapies for patients and creating value for emerging biotechs,” said Nancy Stagliano, PhD, Executive Chair of Electra’s board of directors. “With Kathy's outstanding leadership, Electra will continue to advance its lead candidate, ELA026, as well as pursue a broad range of opportunities to address unmet needs in immune-mediated diseases and cancer.” Dr. Dong succeeds Adam Rosenthal, PhD, who was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Electra. Dr. Rosenthal will continue to serve as a member of Electra’s board of directors and as Chief Executive Officer of Star Therapeutics, the company that spun out Electra. Electra’s board of directors will be expanded with the new appointment of Matthew Fust, MBA, as an independent director and chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Fust has 20 years of industry experience, including roles as a director of several private and public biopharmaceutical companies, and as Chief Financial Officer of several biopharmaceutical companies. “We welcome Matt Fust to the Electra board and look forward to his proven financial leadership and extensive experience guiding biotechnology companies,” continued Dr. Stagliano. “Electra is poised for its next stage of growth, and we acknowledge the contributions of Adam Rosenthal as a founder and CEO and look forward to his continued insights on the board.” Kathy Dong is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with more than 15 years of experience in corporate development, business operations, portfolio management, and product commercialization. Previously, she was Chief Operating Officer of Star Therapeutics since 2019, where she held strategic and operational responsibilities across the Star portfolio, including building Electra Therapeutics and Vega Therapeutics from discovery stage into the clinic. Prior to joining Star Therapeutics, she served as Vice President of Commercial Development at True North Therapeutics where she played a key role in building the market for the first approved therapy for the rare autoimmune disorder, cold agglutinin disease. Following True North’s acquisition by Bioverativ/Sanofi, she was Head of New Product Planning for the complement franchise at Sanofi. Dr. Dong spent nine years of her career at Gilead Sciences, where she led the launch and market development of numerous products in Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, including SOVALDI and HARVONI, two of the most successful launches in biopharmaceutical history as measured by first-year revenue. She earned her PharmD and MBA at the University of New Mexico, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship through Rutgers University. “I’m honored to lead Electra and collaborate with an incredibly talented team to realize the exciting potential of pioneering novel biology and, in the near-term, advancing ELA026 as a first-in-class antibody for patients with sHLH, a severe inflammatory disease with high unmet need and no approved treatment,” said Kathy Dong. “This is a time of strong momentum for the company, particularly as the first clinical data for ELA026 was just presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting, showing a very encouraging response rate in difficult-to-treat subsets of patients with sHLH. We also see broad opportunities ahead as we apply our deep expertise to develop antibodies against novel targets that address immune dysregulation in immunological diseases and cancer.” About Electra Therapeutics Electra Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing therapies against novel targets for the treatment of immunological diseases and cancer. Electra currently has one program in clinical development and additional preclinical programs. The company’s lead product candidate, ELA026, is a monoclonal antibody that targets SIRP on the cell surface of myeloid and T cells, and precisely depletes pathological immune cells. ELA026 is in clinical development for secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH), a life-threatening hyperinflammatory condition for which there is no approved treatment. For more information, please visit and follow us on LinkedIn.

The research of Star Therapeutics has spawned two startup subsidiaries, each with a clinical-stage program. Now the startup creator has $90 million to continue clinical development and to form new biotech companies in hematology and immunology. The Series C financing announced Tuesday was led by Sofinnova Investments. The business model of South San Francisco-based Star is unconventional but not unprecedented. Yes, the company conducts research with the aim of developing novel drugs for unmet medical needs. But rather than keeping all of its research under the same roof, Star forms startup subsidiaries around certain drugs. When Star emerged from stealth last year, CEO Adam Rosenthal told MedCity News that Star’s structure enables these new companies to focus on an asset as well as the flexibility to seek separate financing. BridgeBio Pharma, Cullinan Oncology, and Roivant Sciences are among the companies that operate similar business models. Star’s first biotech startup was Electra Therapeutics, a company developing antibodies that target signal regulatory proteins, or SIRPs, on the surface of immune cells. Electra’s most advanced program, ELA026, is a potential treatment for the rare inflammatory disorder secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. The antibody has reached early clinical development. Electra also has preclinical research with an immuno-oncology drug candidate addressing an undisclosed target. Electra has since gone on to raise an $84 million Series B round of financing. Late last year, Star unveiled its second startup, Vega Therapeutics. Vega is developing treatments for blood disorders. Its initial focus is von Willebrand disease, an inherited bleeding disorder caused by the deficiency or dysfunction of the condition’s namesake clotting protein. Vega drug candidate VGA039 is intended to restore proper blood clotting. The antibody has reached Phase 1a/1b testing. The targets of Star’s research remain undisclosed but the company said the new biotech companies it forms will focus on developing novel antibody therapies for multiple diseases in hematology and immunology. The latest financing brings Star’s funding total to more than $190 million. The Series C round included new investors Qatar Investment Authority, Catalio Capital Management, Agent Capital, Soleus Capital, and NYBC Ventures. Also participating are earlier investors Westlake Village BioPartners, OrbiMed, Redmile Group, RA Capital Management, New Leaf Venture Partners, Cormorant Asset Management, and Cowen Healthcare Investments. “Our outstanding syndicate of seasoned life sciences investors is ideally suited to support our growth and mission to develop life-changing therapies for as many patients as possible, building on our success to date with novel therapeutic approaches in hematology and immunology,” Rosenthal said in a prepared statement. “To date, we have unveiled two biotech companies that have rapidly advanced antibodies from idea stage to the clinic, and we aim to replicate this success with additional biotech companies in the Star portfolio.”

Star Therapeutics has formed two publicly disclosed companies to date—Electra and Vega, both of which are named after stars. Investors have showered Star Therapeutics with $90 million to grow its portfolio companies and develop new antibody drugs for diseases with high unmet need.  Sofinnova Investments led the oversubscribed series C round and was joined by new investors Qatar Investment Authority, Catalio Capital Management, Agent Capital, Soleus Capital and NYBC Ventures alongside all seven existing investors. The new funds nearly double the $100 million Star had already raised since its founding in late 2018.  “Each of our programs goes after multiple diseases with each antibody therapy—so it's a constellation of diseases for every one of our programs,” Star's CEO and founder Adam Rosenthal, Ph.D., told Fierce Biotech.   Star is a biotech portfolio company that has formed two publicly disclosed offshoots to date—Electra Therapeutics and Vega Therapeutics, both of which are named after stars. While Electra is now an independently financed company, blood-disorder-focused Vega remains under Star’s wing.   The newest financing will in part go toward Vega’s VGA039, a monoclonal antibody currently being assessed in a phase 1a/1b study that launched earlier this year. The asset is designed to treat von Willebrand disease (VWD), a bleeding disorder in which blood can’t clot properly. Available treatments, such as factor replacement therapies, are limited and require frequent intravenous infusions.  Vega hopes VGA039 can address these limitations as a subcutaneously self-administered antibody therapy that targets a fundamental mechanism of clot formation via protein S, Rosenthal explained, adding that the company thinks the asset could transform the VWD treatment landscape. “This is very similar actually to what Hemlibra has done in the hemophilia A space,” Rosenthal said, likening the asset’s potential to Roche’s and Chugai’s bispecific monoclonal antibody blockbuster. “Prior to that, really there was only factor replacement therapies, which often are quite burdensome on patients.” The new funds are expected to move VGA039—which received FDA orphan-drug designation this spring—through the entirety of the phase 1a/1b trial, Rosenthal said. “I think we're one of the first and probably the furthest along,” Rosenthal said, referring to antibody therapy developers for VWD. “So, it's an area that probably will get more competitive as people are acknowledging and realizing the unmet need and VWD.” VGA039 also holds potential among other bleeding disorders such as other factor deficiencies and platelet conditions. Star’s series C cash will also be channeled into additional portfolio companies that have yet to be publicly revealed. The business's design allows flexibility when building out teams that have expertise in specific therapeutic areas and to pursue different financing strategies and opportunities for each company, Rosenthal explained.  Star’s constellation of companies boldly go into “areas of white space,” the CEO said—or rare diseases with unmet medical need—a strategy he dubs the company’s “special sauce.”  It also helps explain the emphasis on stars, which Rosenthal said represent the plethora of opportunities available to treat the multitude of diseases that exist today.