Kaleido Biosciences Announces Appointment of Mike Bonney as CEO and Completion of Additional Fundraising

BEDFORD, Mass., Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleido Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel chemistries to unlock the power of the human microbiome, announced today the appointment of biopharmaceutical veteran Mike Bonney as chief executive officer and board chair of Kaleido. The Company also announced the completion of an additional capital raise, for a total of $65 million in funds raised to date. The funding will be used to further advance discovery and testing of Kaleido's novel chemistries for use in unlocking the microbiome to treat disease and enhance health.

"After two and a half years of research and development since its founding by Flagship Pioneering in 2015, Kaleido is poised to launch at least four human studies later this fall," said Noubar Afeyan, senior managing partner & CEO, Flagship Pioneering. "We are thrilled to have Mike's experience and track record of building extraordinary companies and successfully commercializing therapies on board at this exciting time in our corporate lifecycle." 

There is a growing body of evidence that the microbiome – trillions of microbes that live on and in our bodies – serves many functions that are essential to health. In many ways the microbiome operates as another human organ, metabolizing nutrients and interacting with other parts of the body through biochemical signals. While many chemistries in medicine today do harm to the microbiome, Kaleido aims to develop interventions that can enhance and protect these functions, targeting specific disease processes and improving general health.

Kaleido has created the first R&D platform for the development and clinical testing of novel chemistries that target the microbiome. This approach, combined with the safety profile of its product candidates, enables a very rapid discovery and development timeline. Since its founding in 2015, Kaleido has generated more than 3,000 days of human data; advanced three lead products into FIM studies; demonstrated preclinical efficacy in an additional five indication areas and is on track to surpass 20 clinical studies in the next 18 months.

"I truly believe Kaleido – with its deep scientific understanding, R&D engine and pipeline – has the potential to transform the way we treat and prevent disease," said Bonney. "The microbiome is an enormous untapped frontier of medicine, and I am confident that Kaleido will lead the way in advancing new products in this area, both therapeutics and scientifically validated consumer products."

Mike Bonney joins the Kaleido team from Cubist Pharmaceuticals, where he served as CEO and director and led it to become the world's leading antibiotic company, which was acquired by Merck for $9.5 billion in 2015. At Cubist, Bonney oversaw the development and release of the antibiotic Cubicin – the most successful launch of an antibiotic in American history. Bonney currently serves as chair of the board of Alnylam, where he has helped guide the company as it prepares to launch its first commercial product. He also serves as a board member of CELGENE and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, among others. He has received many accolades for his strength as a leader and entrepreneur, including nomination as one of the top six CEOs in the country by MarketWatch and as the Top CEO in Massachusetts by the The Boston Globe.

At Kaleido, Bonney is joined by a world-class management team, including Geoffrey von Maltzahn, co-founder and president of Kaleido and partner at Flagship Pioneering; Jared Silverman, senior vice president of research; Ruth Thieroff-Ekerdt, chief medical officer; Jeffery Moore, senior vice president of finance & operations; Jeremy Buzzard, senior vice president, corporate; Michele Fite, president, food and nutrition division; and Rob Miller, chief scientific officer, food and nutrition division.

As Board Chair at Kaleido, Bonney is joined by: Noubar Afeyan, CEO of Flagship Pioneering and co-founder of Kaleido; Geoffrey von Maltzahn, co-founder and president of Kaleido and partner at Flagship Pioneering; Brian Baynes, founding board member of Kaleido and venture partner at Flagship Pioneering; Anthony Quinn, former head of R&D at Synageva; Ronald Kahn, former president of the Joslin Diabetes Center and winner of the Wolf Prize in Medicine; Peter Barton Hutt, former chief counsel to the FDA;  Robert Connelly, CEO of Axcella Health; and Jonathan McIntyre, senior vice president, PepsiCo Research & Development.

The additional fundraising round was led by Kaleido's founding and principal investor, Flagship Pioneering, and included participation from a number of institutional and individual healthcare investors, including Bonney.

About Kaleido Biosciences

Kaleido Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company engaged in the development of novel chemistries that unlock the power of the microbiome to revolutionize health. The Company has built the first R&D engine to systematically create, discover, and develop interventions that activate metabolic processes in the microbiome to treat disease and maintain health. Since its founding in 2015 by Flagship VentureLabs, Kaleido has advanced candidate products into clinical studies across programs in rare genetic diseases, oncology and infectious disease, and has generated more than 3,000 days of human clinical data. The Company is also creating consumer products that optimize the microbiome's natural roles in promoting health.

To learn more about Kaleido, its pipeline and its management team, please visit: http://www.kaleido.com/   

Primary Contact:
Katie Dodge
kdodge@webershandwick
617-520-7068

SOURCE Kaleido Biosciences

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http://www.kaleido.com