Character Biosciences, a precision medicine company transforming drug development for polygenic diseases, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with four senior appointments, including Robert Kim, M.D., MBA as Chief Medical Officer, Daniel Elgort, Ph.D. as Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Josh Buddle as Head of Clinical Network and Longitudinal Research, and Jessamyn Wead as Head of People.
The company also announced an expansion of its Series B financing, bringing total capital raised in the round to more than $110 million. The additional close included participation from Sanofi Ventures, as well as new and existing investors.
“These appointments and the additional funding mark an important moment for Character Bio as we advance our first therapeutic programs toward the clinic,” said Cheng Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Character Biosciences. “The expanded leadership team and strong support from our investors strengthen our ability to deliver on our mission of transforming outcomes for patients with vision-threatening diseases.”
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Proceeds from the financing will enable Character Bio to further advance the clinical development of CTX114, a complement inhibitor for geographic atrophy (GA), and CTX203, a lipid modulator designed to prevent progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This financing follows Character Bio’s previously announced $93 million Series B, led by aMoon Growth Fund and the Luma Group, alongside participation from Bausch + Lomb, Innovation Endeavors, Catalio Capital Management, S32, and additional leading life sciences investors.
“I am thrilled to join Character at such a pivotal time,” said Robert Kim, M.D., MBA, Chief Medical Officer of Character Biosciences. “Dry AMD is the next frontier in ophthalmology, and Character’s multidisciplinary approach has the potential to deliver treatments that truly address the unmet needs of patients.”
Jason Hafler, Managing Director of Sanofi Ventures, who will join Character Bio’s Board of Directors, added: “Character has built a compelling portfolio of precision medicine programs and a unique patient data platform. We are excited to partner with the team and contribute to the continued development of their pipeline.”
The new executives join existing leaders Cheng Zhang, CEO, Laura Carter, Ph.D., CSO, Erik Karrer, Ph.D., SVP, Drug Discovery, and Kaila Smilen, MBA, Senior Director, Business Development & Corporate Strategy.
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