The Scripps Research Institute and AbbVie have agreed to broaden an existing drug discovery agreement focused on cancer cell therapies to now encompass treatments for other kinds of disease. Scripps’s early-stage drug discovery division, Calibr, last year inked a big partnership with North Chicago, IL-based AbbVie (NYSE: [[ticker:ABBV]]) to develop potential treatments for solid cancer … Continue reading “Scripps Research, AbbVie Expand Drug Discovery Deal Beyond Cancer”
Author: Sarah de Crescenzo
Sarah is Xconomy's San Diego-based editor. Prior to joining the team in 2018, she wrote about startups, tech and finance at the San Diego Business Journal. Her decade of full-time news experience includes coverage of subjects including campaign finance, crime and courts as a reporter and editor at outlets throughout California, including the Orange County Register.
She earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature at UC San Diego, where she wrote for the student newspaper and played collegiate lacrosse. In 2019, she earned an MBA at UC Irvine.
Eying Cancer Combos, Sanofi to Splash Out $2.5B on San Diego’s Synthorx
Synthorx is working to design new cytokine therapies for cancer using an “extended” genetic alphabet that could help avoid the shortcomings associated with earlier versions. Now French biopharma Sanofi has struck a deal to add the startup to its oncology business in a transaction that values the company at about $2.5 billion. The move is … Continue reading “Eying Cancer Combos, Sanofi to Splash Out $2.5B on San Diego’s Synthorx”
3 Takeaways From the Resurrection of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug
The name of the experimental drug was heard so frequently in hotel hallways at the conference that it sounded like an incantation: aducanumab, aducanumab, aducanumab. Regardless of the eventual FDA verdict on Biogen’s once-bagged, now-revived anti-amyloid antibody, data from clinical trials of the treatment have inarguably altered the course of drug discovery and development for … Continue reading “3 Takeaways From the Resurrection of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug”
Acadia Looks to Expand Drug Beyond Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis
Acadia Pharmaceuticals revealed late-stage clinical data this week that could support bringing its drug for psychosis to a broader group of patients. The Acadia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACAD]]) drug pimavanserin (Nuplazid) is currently approved for treating psychosis associated with Parkinson’s disease. But the San Diego-based company has also been testing the drug in dementia-related psychosis (DRP), which … Continue reading “Acadia Looks to Expand Drug Beyond Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis”
Bio Roundup: Biogen at CTAD, Sage’s Stumble, Astellas’s $3B Offer & More
It’s been a roller-coaster year for those hoping for new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, a leading cause of death with rising treatment costs and no clear answer yet as to its cause. Clearing proteins, such as amyloid and tau, was once seen as the top contender for stopping or slowing neurodegeneration. Costly failures forced … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Biogen at CTAD, Sage’s Stumble, Astellas’s $3B Offer & More”
Biogen Points to Enrollment and Dosing to Explain Alzheimer’s Results
Biogen revealed detailed results from its Alzheimer’s trial to a jam-packed room of eager conference attendees this week—and while some described it as a major advance in the field, others were less convinced. Samantha Budd Haeberlein, Biogen’s vice president of clinical development, took the stage Thursday morning in San Diego at Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s … Continue reading “Biogen Points to Enrollment and Dosing to Explain Alzheimer’s Results”
As Alzheimer’s Conference Kicks Off, All Eyes Are on Biogen’s Drug
It’s the “era of neuroscience”; an industry “turning point”; and “an amazing time”—superlatives were flowing freely as the 12th annual Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease congress (CTAD) kicked off in rainy San Diego late Wednesday afternoon. The atmosphere felt thick with anticipation as attendees massed in the downtown hotel where the conference is taking place, … Continue reading “As Alzheimer’s Conference Kicks Off, All Eyes Are on Biogen’s Drug”
6 Experimental Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnostics Projects Get Funding Boost
Scientists gathered this week in San Diego at the annual Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease Congress are focused on ways to treat the neurodegenerative disease, a task that continues to vex those working to develop potential medicines. Others are working on an intimately related problem: early detection of the disease and related dementias. On Wednesday … Continue reading “6 Experimental Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnostics Projects Get Funding Boost”
Stemonix, Atomwise Team Up on Drug Discovery With MicroOrgans and AI
Two venture-backed startups that have developed technologies intended to speed up the drug discovery and development process are combining those tools in a bid to achieve their goals together. San Francisco-based Atomwise has developed deep learning techniques for use in structure-based small molecule drug discovery. Since 2012 it has raised more than $50 million to … Continue reading “Stemonix, Atomwise Team Up on Drug Discovery With MicroOrgans and AI”
Repare Therapeutics Taps Clementia Pharma’s Steve Forte As Its New CFO
Repare Therapeutics said Tuesday it has appointed Steve Forte as executive vice president and chief financial officer. The company, which has offices in Cambridge, MA and Montreal is developing immune-oncology drugs by leveraging a concept known as synthetic lethality. In 2017 it emerged from stealth with $68 million in outside financing to advance its efforts; in September it … Continue reading “Repare Therapeutics Taps Clementia Pharma’s Steve Forte As Its New CFO”
Astellas Bets On Gene Therapy With $3B Audentes Acquisition Offer
Japanese drug giant Astellas Pharma announced late Monday it has agreed to buy Audentes Therapeutics, which is developing gene therapies for rare neuromuscular diseases. It’s an all-cash deal worth $3 billion, with the Astellas offer of $60 per share representing a 110 percent premium to Audentes’ (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BOLD]]) share price of $28.61 apiece at market close … Continue reading “Astellas Bets On Gene Therapy With $3B Audentes Acquisition Offer”
Neurocrine Inks $50M Xenon Pharma Deal to Expand Into Epilepsy
Neurocrine Biosciences is paying $30 million cash and taking a $20 million equity stake in Xenon Pharmaceuticals to license a clinical-stage epilepsy drug and collaborate on other potential treatments for the seizure-causing brain disorder. The Xenon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XENE]]) deal is the second one San Diego-based Neurocrine (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NBIX]]) has struck this year in a bid … Continue reading “Neurocrine Inks $50M Xenon Pharma Deal to Expand Into Epilepsy”
La Jolla Pharma’s Share Price Halves On Trial End, CEO Departure
La Jolla Pharmaceutical is turning its focus to its lone FDA-approved product and another one in the pipeline after an experimental drug for a rare blood disease failed a late-stage study. On Monday, La Jolla Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LJPC]]) said it was halting a clinical trial testing LJPC-401, its drug candidate for iron overload in patients … Continue reading “La Jolla Pharma’s Share Price Halves On Trial End, CEO Departure”
Five Questions With a16z’s Vijay Pande on AI and Making New Drugs
In startup world these days, the word “biotech” is increasingly accompanied by “computational” and two, two-letter initialisms: AI and ML. Those tools—artificial intelligence and machine learning, respectively—have been around for decades, but in recent years have become faster and cheaper, accelerating their use by those in the business of discovering and developing new drugs. Another … Continue reading “Five Questions With a16z’s Vijay Pande on AI and Making New Drugs”
Axcella Taps Incyte’s Laurent Chardonnet as Chief Financial Officer
Axcella Health (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AXLA]]) announced it has hired Laurent Chardonnet as its chief financial officer. Chardonnet previously spent 15 years in a variety of finance-related roles at Incyte (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INCY]]), during which time it grew from a clinical-stage outfit to a $20 billion commercial-stage biopharma. Cambridge, MA-based Axcella, which was founded by Flagship Pioneering under … Continue reading “Axcella Taps Incyte’s Laurent Chardonnet as Chief Financial Officer”
With Cell-By-Cell Take on Drug Discovery, Immunitas Debuts With $39M
A cancer tumor is a veritable patchwork of cells with a variety of genetic fingerprints. Immunitas Therapeutics is using single-cell genomics—an approach that studies the genetic activity of individual cells—to peer deeply into patient tumors and more precisely determine what is fueling the growth. With that knowledge, the company plans to develop new targets for … Continue reading “With Cell-By-Cell Take on Drug Discovery, Immunitas Debuts With $39M”
Twist Bioscience Promotes Patrick Finn to Chief Commercial Officer
Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TWST]]), a synthetic biology company that has developed a proprietary way of manufacturing DNA by “writing” it on a silicon chip, has promoted Patrick “Paddy” Finn to chief commercial officer, a newly created position. Previously Finn, who joined Twist in 2015, was senior vice president of commercial operations. Prior to Twist he … Continue reading “Twist Bioscience Promotes Patrick Finn to Chief Commercial Officer”
Kronos Bio Appoints Jorge DiMartino as Its Chief Medical Officer
Kronos Bio has named Jorge DiMartino as its chief medical officer and executive vice president, clinical development, a newly created position. DiMartino, who was most recently at Celgene as vice president, translational development, will be based at Kronos headquarters in San Mateo, CA. Kronos, which aims to use its Small Molecule Microarray technology to develop … Continue reading “Kronos Bio Appoints Jorge DiMartino as Its Chief Medical Officer”
Myovant to Seek FDA OK on Pill to Treat Advanced Prostate Cancer
A drug candidate once shelved by Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE: [[ticker:TAK]]) has found new life within Roivant Sciences spinout Myovant as a potential once-daily oral hormone therapy for patients with advanced prostate cancer. The Brisbane, CA-based biotech company (MYSE: [[ticker:MYOV]]) reported Tuesday that the drug, relugolix, met the primary goal of a Phase 3 trial, lowering … Continue reading “Myovant to Seek FDA OK on Pill to Treat Advanced Prostate Cancer”
With “Inflection Year” Ahead, Ovid Adds Novartis’s Tardio to C-Suite
About five years ago, former Teva Pharmaceutical CEO Jeremy Levin launched Ovid Therapeutics with a plan to develop treatments for rare brain diseases. Now, with the completion of a clinical trial on the horizon anticipated to provide enough data to file for FDA approval, the 55-person biotech has recruited a Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]) executive to … Continue reading “With “Inflection Year” Ahead, Ovid Adds Novartis’s Tardio to C-Suite”
Biotech Roundup: Gottlieb v. Juul, Solid Slumps, Avidity Gets $100M & More
Lung injuries connected to the use of electronic cigarettes have topped 2,000 and killed 40 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s still unclear whether the cases are tied to legally sold products or devices modified by e-cigarette users, but the CDC this week identified a “potential toxin of concern”—Vitamin E … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Gottlieb v. Juul, Solid Slumps, Avidity Gets $100M & More”
Daré to Add Microchip-Based Birth Control to Women’s Health Portfolio
The list of activities our smartphones can control grows daily. Transfer money? It’s simple. Order groceries? That, too. Turn off the bedroom lights? Check. How about contraception? Advancing new forms of birth control is a central focus at Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DARE]]), a San Diego-based biopharma company that’s built a pipeline of experimental devices and … Continue reading “Daré to Add Microchip-Based Birth Control to Women’s Health Portfolio”
Equillium Names Chief Business Officer Bruce Steel as Successor CEO
Equillium (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EQ]]) announced this week that CEO Dan Bradbury would step down from the role Jan. 1 and be succeeded by Bruce Steel, the company’s current chief business officer and president. Bradbury will remain executive chairman. Steel, a co-founder of the company, was previously the founder and managing director of BioMed Realty’s strategic investment … Continue reading “Equillium Names Chief Business Officer Bruce Steel as Successor CEO”
Calporta, Started by Avalon Ventures-GSK, Is Acquired by Merck
Another of the biopharma startups created as part of a collaboration between San Diego investment firm Avalon Ventures and GlaxoSmithKline has been acquired—but not by GSK. Instead, the company, Calporta Therapeutics, is being absorbed by Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]), which is interested in its preclinical work on potential treatments for lysosomal storage and neurodegenerative diseases, including … Continue reading “Calporta, Started by Avalon Ventures-GSK, Is Acquired by Merck”
Reata’s Kidney Drug Hits Goals of Key Study, Paves Way for FDA Filing
About half of all patients with the most severe form of Alport syndrome, a rare, genetic type of chronic kidney disease, will need dialysis or a transplant by age 25. On Monday, Reata Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RETA]]) announced that its investigational drug for those with Alport syndrome, bardoxolone methyl (bard), met the main goal of a … Continue reading “Reata’s Kidney Drug Hits Goals of Key Study, Paves Way for FDA Filing”
Neurana Pharmaceuticals Appoints Randall Kaye Chief Medical Officer
Randall Kaye is joining Neurana Pharmaceuticals as chief medical officer. Kaye was most recently CMO at digital therapeutics developer Click Therapeutics. Previously he held executive roles at SSI Strategy, where he served as CMO of Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AXSM]]), and at Avanir Pharmaceuticals. Neurana, which is based in San Diego, is advancing its lead drug … Continue reading “Neurana Pharmaceuticals Appoints Randall Kaye Chief Medical Officer”
Looking to Level Up in NASH, Novo Nordisk Licenses Ube Drug Candidate
Danish diabetes giant Novo Nordisk took another step this week in its efforts to establish a presence in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, a metabolic disorder closely related to diabetes that is anticipated to become the leading cause of liver transplants in the US in coming years. The company Thursday announced it had inked a deal … Continue reading “Looking to Level Up in NASH, Novo Nordisk Licenses Ube Drug Candidate”
Odylia Therapeutics Names Ashley Winslow Its Chief Scientific Officer
Ashley Winslow is joining Atlanta, GA-based Odylia Therapeutics, a nonprofit organization that aims to accelerate the development of gene therapies for people with inherited retinal disease, as its chief scientific officer. Most recently she was the senior director of portfolio development and translational research at the Orphan Disease Center at the University of Pennsylvania; she … Continue reading “Odylia Therapeutics Names Ashley Winslow Its Chief Scientific Officer”
Teva Pharmaceutical Appoints Eli Kalif As New Chief Financial Officer
Israeli generics giant Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE: [[ticker:TEVA]]) announced Thursday that it had appointed Eli Kalif as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer. Kalif, who was most recently a senior vice president, finance, at Flex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FLEX]]), a US technological manufacturer, succeeds Mike McClellan, who held the role for the past two years.
Why Steve Kafka Left Third Rock Ventures for Up-and-Comer Section 32
Section 32, which invests in healthcare and life sciences companies with a technology component, has added a third managing partner. The small venture capital firm was started in San Diego about two years ago by Bill Maris, who, during his time at Google, founded and led its corporate venture capital arm, now part of parent … Continue reading “Why Steve Kafka Left Third Rock Ventures for Up-and-Comer Section 32”
With $9.5M, Intrepida Bio Launches to Target Pancreatic Cancer & More
Dauntless Pharmaceuticals formed in 2016, and its founders said the Sofinnova Ventures-backed firm planned to take a new approach to building biotechs. Instead of advancing a broad stable of early-stage drug candidates under the same roof, Dauntless aimed to set up each asset within its own company. The idea was that when it came time … Continue reading “With $9.5M, Intrepida Bio Launches to Target Pancreatic Cancer & More”
Acadia Names Subbiah Chief Medical Officer, Head of Medical Affairs
Ponni Subbiah is joining Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACAD]]) as chief medical officer and senior vice president, global head of medical affairs. She was most recently CMO at UK opioid manufacturer Indivior; she previously spent about 15 years at Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]). San Diego-based Acadia has one drug on the market, pimavanserin (Nuplazid), a treatment for … Continue reading “Acadia Names Subbiah Chief Medical Officer, Head of Medical Affairs”
Boundless Bio Appoints Chris Hassig as Its Chief Scientific Officer
Chris Hassig has joined cancer drug developer Boundless Bio as its chief scientific officer. He is tasked with overseeing the San Diego company’s drug discovery efforts, expanding its research team, and guiding the company in building out a pipeline of therapeutics. Hassig was most recently CSO of Sierra Oncology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SRRA]]); prior he served in … Continue reading “Boundless Bio Appoints Chris Hassig as Its Chief Scientific Officer”
Disc Medicine Launches With $50M to Advance New Anemia Treatments
Red blood cells need iron to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, and having too little or too much can lead to serious health problems. When iron levels go awry, the number of healthy red blood cells circulating in the bloodstream shrinks, causing a condition called anemia. Disc Medicine, a … Continue reading “Disc Medicine Launches With $50M to Advance New Anemia Treatments”
Prometheus Bio Appoints Mike Walther as Chief Commercial Officer
Mike Walther has been appointed chief commercial officer of Prometheus Biosciences, which is developing new gastroenterology and autoimmune disease drugs and diagnostics. Walther was most recently general manager at Aries Pharmaceuticals. His experience also includes a series of management roles, including vice president of commercial development, at Nestlé Health Science unit Prometheus Laboratories. The conglomerate’s … Continue reading “Prometheus Bio Appoints Mike Walther as Chief Commercial Officer”
UK Regulator Has “Competition Concerns” Over Illumina-PacBio Tie-Up
Nearly one year after DNA sequencing machine maker Illumina announced plans to acquire smaller rival Pacific Biosciences, antitrust regulators in the UK say the merger could stifle competition in the region and reduce industry innovation. The Competition and Markets Authority has been eying the proposed $1.2 billion tie-up since April. The regulator’s in-depth review, which … Continue reading “UK Regulator Has “Competition Concerns” Over Illumina-PacBio Tie-Up”
Bio Roundup: Biogen’s Reversal, FDA Moves Fast, a CF Cocktail & More
Earlier this year, it seemed that companies testing Alzheimer’s disease treatments based on a long-held hypothesis as to its cause—brain deposits of a protein called beta amyloid—were giving up the ghost. Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) was among them. The drug maker had stopped testing of a drug developed to target amyloid plaque after a Phase 3 … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Biogen’s Reversal, FDA Moves Fast, a CF Cocktail & More”
Biogen Reverses Course on Alzheimer’s Drug Analysis, Plans FDA Filing
Six months after Biogen stopped work on a closely watched experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment, the neuroscience drug developer is reviving it with plans to file for FDA approval. Aducanumab’s Phase 3 failure in March was viewed as yet another nail in the coffin for the so-called “amyloid hypothesis”—the theory that by breaking up or clearing … Continue reading “Biogen Reverses Course on Alzheimer’s Drug Analysis, Plans FDA Filing”
Vertex Stock Up on Quick FDA OK For 3-Drug Cystic Fibrosis Therapy
The FDA on Monday approved a Vertex Pharmaceuticals cystic fibrosis treatment that combines three drugs, a decision that comes three months after the company submitted its application and five months before the agency’s deadline to finish its review. The Boston-based company saw its stock price rise 4 percent on the news to $185. The Vertex … Continue reading “Vertex Stock Up on Quick FDA OK For 3-Drug Cystic Fibrosis Therapy”
SeaGen to Seek FDA Nod After Breast Cancer Drug Hits Goals of Key Study
An experimental breast cancer drug from Seattle Genetics is headed for FDA review after the company reported a pivotal clinical trial met its main goals. The company has been testing tucatinib as a treatment for advanced or metastatic breast cancer with abnormally high levels of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), … Continue reading “SeaGen to Seek FDA Nod After Breast Cancer Drug Hits Goals of Key Study”
Enzyvant Adds Compass’s Jeb Ledell as Its Chief Operating Officer
Enzyvant, a Cambridge, MA-based rare disease drug developer, has appointed Jeb Ledell as its chief operating officer. Ledell previously held COO roles at Cambridge-based Compass Therapeutics and at Horizon Discovery Group, a genomics company in the UK. Enzyvant’s lead candidate, RVT-802, a regenerative treatment for pediatric congenital athymia, is expected to receive an FDA decision in … Continue reading “Enzyvant Adds Compass’s Jeb Ledell as Its Chief Operating Officer”
Pyxis Oncology Taps MedImmune’s Herbst as Chief Scientific Officer
Pyxis Oncology, an immuno-oncology company developing antibody drugs to restore activity to dysfunctional T cells, has appointed Ronald Herbst as its chief scientific officer. Herbst joins the Boston-based company from the AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]) global biologics R&D arm, MedImmune, where he was vice president of research and development and head of oncology research.
Plexium Debuts With $28M and a New Take on Protein Degradation Drugs
Even as researchers discover more links between specific proteins and human disease, it’s still hard to find small molecules or antibodies that can bind to those drug targets. San Diego biotech Plexium is the latest addition to the growing number of startups aiming to use technology to devise new drugs that can target those currently … Continue reading “Plexium Debuts With $28M and a New Take on Protein Degradation Drugs”
Led by Gilead Veteran Riva, Glenmark’s Ichnos Steps Out on Its Own
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, which has made generic drugs for about four decades, on Tuesday formally spun off its drug R&D unit as an independent business aiming to advance a handful of novel molecules the Indian company has developed in recent years. The new company, called Ichnos Sciences, emerges with a clinical-stage pipeline that has experimental treatments … Continue reading “Led by Gilead Veteran Riva, Glenmark’s Ichnos Steps Out on Its Own”
Poseida Therapeutics Brings In Amgen’s Kerry Ingalls as COO
Poseida Therapeutics said Thursday that Kerry Ingalls has joined the company as its chief operating officer, and that he is tasked with overseeing its global manufacturing operations. Ingalls most recently oversaw clinical and commercial manufacturing for Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) at its headquarters in Thousand Oaks, CA; he has also held leadership roles at other Amgen … Continue reading “Poseida Therapeutics Brings In Amgen’s Kerry Ingalls as COO”
Pharma, Biotech VC Investments Continue Shift to Early Stage Deals
The number of investments that venture capitalists will make this year in pharmaceutical and biotech companies is on pace to match last year’s record—and that money continues to shift into earlier-stage deals. Venture firms invested in 609 drug development deals as of Sept. 30, 2019, compared with 808 deals for all last year, according to … Continue reading “Pharma, Biotech VC Investments Continue Shift to Early Stage Deals”
LabFellows Looks to Become “Operating System” For Life Sciences Cos.
[Updated 7:21 p.m. 10/11. See below.] Scientists, no matter how sexy the research they’re conducting, aren’t immune from the administrative minutiae of office life. Such tasks steal time away from researchers’ main objectives. However, that wasn’t the problem San Diego startup LabFellows was looking to solve when it launched in 2014. Founders Julio de Unamuno … Continue reading “LabFellows Looks to Become “Operating System” For Life Sciences Cos.”
Precision IBD Rebrands as Prometheus and Strikes R&D Deal With Takeda
This summer Nestlé Health Science sold Prometheus Laboratories, a gastrointestinal disease diagnostics unit it had acquired eight years prior, to a low-profile San Diego biotech called Precision IBD. About a month ago, Precision—a drug and diagnostic developer that’s focused, as its name suggests, on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—changed its name to Prometheus Biosciences and tapped … Continue reading “Precision IBD Rebrands as Prometheus and Strikes R&D Deal With Takeda”
After Brain Cancer Drug Fails, Tocagen to Cut More Than Half of Staff
Following the late-stage failure of its lead program, an experimental gene therapy treatment for the most aggressive form of brain cancer, Tocagen will reduce its workforce by 65 percent, the company said Thursday. The layoffs will result in a staff of about 30 people by year’s end, Tocagen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TOCA]]) said in the press release. … Continue reading “After Brain Cancer Drug Fails, Tocagen to Cut More Than Half of Staff”
Avidity Biosciences Taps Former Akcea Exec Sarah Boyce as New CEO
Avidity Biosciences, a private biotech in La Jolla, CA, on Tuesday announced that it has brought aboard Sarah Boyce as its president and CEO. Last month Boyce left her position as president of rare disease drug developer Akcea Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKCA]])—a Boston-based spinout of San Diego’s Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IONS]])—as part of an unexplained management … Continue reading “Avidity Biosciences Taps Former Akcea Exec Sarah Boyce as New CEO”