The pharma-biotech executive jumps show no sign of abating as a former Pfizer vet joins the ranks of startup Outpost Medicine as its R&D trials lead.
Ian Mills, M.D., becomes its new chief medical officer, coming from his role as head of clinical development at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Europe; before this, he was a long-serving Pfizer vet serving across several research posts, with a focus on urology.
Outpost, with bases in Indianapolis and London, launched just last year and has since raised $61 million in a series A from the likes of Frazier Healthcare Partners, Adams Street Partners, Novo Holdings, Vivo Capital and Takeda Venture.
When it launched, Takeda gave out an exclusive license to the early-stage biotech for a clinical-stage product candidate in testing for stress urinary incontinence.
“Ian will be an outstanding addition to our leadership team, and we are very pleased to welcome him to Outpost,” said Scott Byrd, CEO of Outpost and formerly of Acacia Pharma and Lilly, in a release. “His extensive global drug development experience, including successfully guiding two pharmaceutical products to FDA approval for urology indications, will be pivotal to building our capabilities and leading the development of our lead product candidate, OP-687, for the treatment of overactive bladder and irritable bowel syndrome.”
By Ben Adams
Source: Fierce Biotech
Novartis will acquire Mariana’s lead candidate MC-339, a radioligand therapy (RLT) designed to target small-cell lung cancer. Last year, Mariana had raised $175m in a Series B round from several funds and pharma giant Eli Lilly.
The company’s aspiration to expand the use of its obesity products to cardiovascular indications has been successful. In March, its blockbuster drug Wegovy was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in obese or overweight adults.
Massachusetts-based Deciphera brings to the table an extensive kinase inhibitor pipeline, kinase drug discovery expertise, and a strong commercial and sales platform in the US and European markets that is meant to advance Ono’s capabilities and presence in the oncology space.
