CatalYm Overhauls Leadership Team to Accelerate Late-Stage Development of Cancer Immunotherapy

German biotech CatalYm has announced a significant restructuring of its executive team, bringing in four industry veterans while bidding farewell to three long-standing leaders. The move is aimed at expediting the late-stage development of the company's flagship cancer immunotherapy candidate, visugromab.

New Leadership to Drive Clinical Progress

CatalYm has appointed Sujata Rao, M.D., as its new Chief Medical Officer, replacing Eugen Leo, M.D., who is stepping down after nearly seven years in the role. Dr. Rao brings extensive experience from Insilico Medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb, and ARMO Biosciences, positioning her well to guide visugromab's clinical development.

Clinton Musil, another ARMO alum, joins as Chief Business and Chief Financial Officer, taking over from Anne Burger. Musil's background includes roles as CFO at Skyhawk Therapeutics and CEO experience, which will be crucial as CatalYm navigates its financial and strategic path forward.

The company has also welcomed Heike Krupka, Ph.D., as Chief Development Officer and Andrea Goddard as Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Krupka's experience in program management at Bristol Myers and leadership roles at Pfizer and Genentech complement Goddard's technical and operational expertise from Roche and Genentech.

Visugromab: A Promising Cancer Immunotherapy

CatalYm's leadership reshuffle is centered around accelerating the development of visugromab, a monoclonal antibody targeting GDF-15. The drug candidate has shown promise in early clinical trials, particularly in combination with anti-PD-1 inhibitors.

A phase 1/2 trial demonstrated "deep and durable responses" across several solid tumor types while maintaining a favorable safety profile. Based on these encouraging results, CatalYm is preparing to launch multiple phase 2b studies, including trials in first-line metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and cachexia, a wasting syndrome often associated with advanced cancer.

Financial Backing and Global Expansion

The leadership changes come on the heels of a substantial financial boost for CatalYm. In 2024, the company secured $150 million in a series D funding round, which will support the upcoming phase 2b studies. The investment was backed by a roster of prominent venture capital firms, including Canaan Partners, Forbion Growth, Omega Funds, Jeito Capital, Novartis Venture Fund, and Vesalius.

While maintaining its headquarters in Munich, Germany, CatalYm has expanded its operations to include a site in San Francisco, underlining its ambitions for global reach and access to key biotechnology hubs.

As CatalYm embarks on this new chapter with a refreshed leadership team and robust financial support, the pharmaceutical industry will be watching closely to see if visugromab can deliver on its early promise and potentially reshape the landscape of cancer immunotherapy.