ReAlta Life Sciences said it appointment Lewis T. "Rusty" Williams, M.D., Ph.D. as Chairman of its Board of Directors, as it continues to rebalance the inflammatory response to address rare and acute inflammatory diseases across a wide spectrum of therapeutic areas.The company said Edward A. "Buzz" Heidt Jr., who has served as Chairman since 2020, will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors."We are delighted to welcome Dr. Williams as Chairman of our Board of Directors," said David Marek, Chief Executive Officer of ReAlta. "His exceptional track record in building successful biopharmaceutical companies and expertise in drug development will be invaluable as ReAlta advances its clinical

ReAlta Life Sciences said it appointment Lewis T. "Rusty" Williams, M.D., Ph.D. as Chairman of its Board of Directors, as it continues to rebalance the inflammatory response to address rare and acute inflammatory diseases across a wide spectrum of therapeutic areas. The company said Edward A. "Buzz" Heidt Jr., who has served as Chairman since 2020, will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors. "We are delighted to welcome Dr. Williams as Chairman of our Board of Directors," said David Marek, Chief Executive Officer of ReAlta. "His exceptional track record in building successful biopharmaceutical companies and expertise in drug development will be invaluable as ReAlta advances its clinical programs."

ReAlta Life Sciences

ReAlta Appoints Lewis T. Williams as Board Chairman

Biotechnology & Medical Research

Software

Enterprise Software

Public Sector & Health Tech

Security & Infrastructure Software

Data Science

ReAlta Life Sciences Advances with Rusty Williams as Board Chair

Hire

Leadership

Chair Person

Chairman

Board

Rusty Williams is a distinguished physician/scientist, innovative life sciences entrepreneur, and successful executive and board member of many biopharmaceutical companies over his career. Dr. Williams currently serves as Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ten30 Biosciences and is a member of the board of Protagonist Therapeutics. Previously, he founded and served as Chairman and CEO of Walking Fish Therapeutics and Five Prime Therapeutics (acquired by Amgen), and co-founded Cor Therapeutics (acquired by Millennium Pharmaceuticals). He has held senior management positions and Board seats at numerous other biopharmaceutical companies, including Chiron Corporation (now Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics).

ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address rare and acute inflammatory diseases, today announced two distinguished biopharmaceutical veterans to lead the Company: David Marek appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Paolo Martini, Ph.D., appointed as Chief Research and Development Officer. "As ReAlta evolves into a late-stage development company with multiple clinical programs spanning three distinct therapeutic areas with significant unmet need, I am confident that David and Paolo are the ideal leaders for these two pivotal roles," said Edward A. Heidt, Jr., Chairperson of ReAltas Board of Directors. "David has a strong track record of success driving business transformation including leading an organization with one of the most successful buyouts in recent years, while Paolos deep expertise in leading-edge drug discovery and development across an array of therapeutic areas, including rare diseases, will position ReAlta well as we look ahead to delivering potentially life-saving medications for patients with rare and acute inflammatory diseases." "Its rare to find a company so well positioned with a novel scientific approach to take on one of the great challenges in human health - inflammation. Although a key aspect of the bodys immune defenses, inflammation also has significant involvement in the disease process of many conditions and diseases that account for more than half of all deaths globally," said Mr. Marek. "I am excited to bring my energy and experience to serve as the CEO of ReAlta and am proud to work alongside team members who work tirelessly to break new ground in advancing our mission on behalf of patients." "The design of ReAltas investigational medicines are inspired by nature - specifically a human enteric virus which has adapted over one billion years of evolution to mitigate inflammation through a dual targeting mechanism that modulates both complement and innate inflammatory pathways. By inhibiting activation of the complement cascade and the neutrophil-driven mechanisms of inflammation and host tissue destruction, ReAltas EPICC peptide platform has the potential to provide new hope for patients with rare and acute inflammatory diseases," said Dr. Martini. "I look forward to advancing our pipeline and to unlocking new opportunities alongside the ReAlta team." About David Marek David Marek is a veteran biopharmaceutical executive with more than 30 years of successful industry experience. Mr. Marek previously served as Chief Executive Officer and as a Board Director of Myovant Sciences, Inc., where he led the evolution from clinical-stage to commercial-stage with three commercial launches of therapeutics focused on hormone-sensitive oncology and womens health prior to the companys sale to Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd. Prior to Myovant, Mr. Marek served as Chief Commercial Officer of Axsome Therapeutics, where he led the buildout of commercial capabilities in preparation for anticipated product launches. Before joining Axsome, Mr. Marek held the position of General Manager of the Neuroscience business unit at Amgen, where he led the U.S. launch of Aimovig for migraine prevention. Before Amgen, Mr. Marek served in a number of leadership roles including Executive Vice President, Consumer Services for WebMD Health Corp. and Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare Advertising. Mr. Marek began his career at Eli Lilly and Company, followed by AstraZeneca, where he served in a variety of marketing and sales roles. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Washington State University. About Paolo Martini Paolo Martini, Ph.D., brings more than 25 years of experience in drug discovery and development. Formerly, Dr. Martini served as Chief Scientific Officer and founder of Moderna Rare Diseases at Moderna, Inc., leading a team focused on identifying novel therapies and applying translational approaches for drug development in rare diseases and hematological disorders. Prior to Moderna, Dr. Martini was Senior Director of discovery biology and translational research at Shire Pharmaceutical. He played a key role in the launch of V-Priv (velaglucerase alpha) for Gaucher disease and Firazyr for hemoangioedema, and he supported Phase 1 and 2 clinical studies for lysosomal storage and chronic kidney diseases. Dr. Martini is the author of more than 50 publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals. He serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Certa Therapeutics (Melbourne, AUS), Gingko Bioworks (Boston, MA), and the Institute of Life Changing Medicines (USA), a non-profit organization focusing on CN1 (Crigler-Najjar disease type 1). He studied at the University of Milano in Italy and graduated with a Ph.D. in Molecular Endocrinology. About ReAlta Life Sciences ReAlta Life Sciences, Inc. is a clinical mid-stage biotech company dedicated to saving lives by rebalancing the inflammatory response to address life threatening acute inflammatory and rare diseases. The Companys EPICC peptides are based on research of the human astrovirus, HAstV-1, which causes a non-inflammatory, self-limiting gastroenteritis unique among viruses by inhibiting components of the innate immune system. ReAltas therapeutic peptides leverage these virus-derived mechanisms to rebalance complement and inflammatory processes in the body. The Companys pipeline is led by RLS-0071, which has received both Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Orphan Drug Designation by the European Medicines Agency, for the treatment of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a devastating disease that causes brain damage in oxygen-deprived newborns and a leading cause of cerebral palsy; Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation by the FDA for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD), a disease associated with bone marrow and stem cell transplants whereby transplanted white blood cells attack the new host in an inflammatory response; and IND clearance by the FDA for the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory lung disease characterized by progressive airflow limitations and tissue destruction that makes it challenging for patients to breathe. The company launched in 2018 and is located in Norfolk, Virginia and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.realtalifesciences.com.

ReAlta Life Sciences Announces Leadership Additions

Promotion

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

C-Suite (CxO)

David is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Board Director at ReAlta Life Sciences since July 2024. Prior to this, he held the same positions at Myovant Sciences from January 2021 to June 2023. His experience includes being the Chief Commercial Officer at Axsome Therapeutics, Inc from August 2019 to December 2020 and a Vice President and General Manager, Neuroscience at Amgen from June 2015 to August 2019. David also has a background as a Principal and Owner at Turnstone Strategies LLC, Commercial Strategy Officer / EVP Consumer Services at WebMD, and Managing Director at Inferential Focus and Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare. He began his career as a VP Account Supervisor at FCB Healthcare and has worked at AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly. David is an alumnus of Washington State University.

Operations

Business Development

Chief Research & Development Officer

Paolo is currently the Chief Research & Development Officer at ReAlta Life Sciences, where he has been since August 2024. Prior to this role, he served as the Chief Scientific Officer International Therapeutics Research Centers at Moderna from October 2015 to March 2024. His experience also includes various positions at Shire HGT from January 2008 to September 2015, including Senior Director Discovery Biology, Director of Discovery Biology, Director of Molecular Biology, and Associate Director. Before that, he was an Adjunct Faculty at Brandeis University from May 2007 to May 2010 and a Group Leader at Serono Research Institute from June 2001 to June 2006. Paolos academic background includes completing a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at Università degli Studi di Milano and the University of Milano, Italy. He also held post-doctoral positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Schering AG, and the University of Milano.

ReAlta Life Sciences Advances with Rusty Williams as Board Chair

latest related moves