Immunovant Appoints Robert K. Zeldin, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer and W. Bradford Middlekauff, J.D. as General Counsel
NEW YORK and BASEL, Switzerland, Aug. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Immunovant, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for patients living with debilitating autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of Robert K. Zeldin, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer and W. Bradford Middlekauff, J.D., as General Counsel.
A clinical immunologist by training, Dr. Zeldin brings over two decades of clinical, regulatory and industry experience to Immunovant. "Robert has an impressive track record of delivering results and leading clinical development teams. I am delighted to welcome him as we pursue studies of IMVT-1401 for multiple autoimmune diseases," said Pete Salzmann, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Immunovant.
"IMVT-1401 is a promising subcutaneous product candidate with the potential to treat a number of serious and rare diseases with significant unmet medical need. I am excited to be joining Immunovant at this key stage in its development and look forward to working with the team to bring new medicines to the market and meaningfully improve patients' lives," said Dr. Zeldin.
Dr. Zeldin joins Immunovant from Acceleron Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of protein therapeutics for serious and rare diseases, where he served as CMO. Previously he was CMO of Belgium-based Ablynx NV, where he served on the company's Executive Committee and directed the Phase 3 development program and regulatory filings for caplacizumab, which has been approved for the treatment of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in the U.S. and Europe. Ablynx was acquired by Sanofi for $4.8 billion.
Dr. Zeldin's career in industry began at Merck, where he spent seven years in increasingly strategic roles in worldwide regulatory affairs and clinical development. After Merck, he served as Vice President and U.S. Medical Franchise Head – Respiratory and Dermatology at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and then as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Clinical Development at Stallergenes SA.
Prior to his work in industry, Dr. Zeldin served as a Medical Officer at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He also spent several years in clinical practice. He holds an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine. His postdoctoral training included Residency in Internal Medicine at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh and Fellowship in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
A graduate of Yale Law School, Mr. Middlekauff brings over twenty-five years of legal, business and industry experience to Immunovant. "Brad has tremendous breadth and depth of legal experience across a range of publicly traded biotechs. I am delighted to welcome him as we expand our clinical studies and establish a strong corporate foundation," said Dr. Salzmann.
"I am thrilled to join the Immunovant team, as we look to build a first-rate life science company poised to develop and deliver products that could dramatically impact patients' lives across a broad spectrum of autoimmune diseases," said Mr. Middlekauff.
Mr. Middlekauff joins Immunovant from PDS Biotechnology Corporation (formerly known as Edge Therapeutics), where Mr. Middlekauff served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, and was responsible for all legal and compliance aspects of a publicly traded life science company. He previously served as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary at Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, where he also ran the business development function; Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Medarex, a publicly traded antibody company that developed the products later known as Yervoy® and Opdivo® and was sold to Bristol-Myers Squibb for $2.4 billion; and Vice President, Business Development and General Counsel at Algos Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded drug development company that was sold to Endo Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Middlekauff served on the Executive Committee at each of these companies.
Mr. Middlekauff has served as Executive-in-Residence at Princeton University and is a member of the board of directors of ProteoDesign, a biotechnology company based in Barcelona, Spain.
Following a clerkship in the Southern District of New York, Mr. Middlekauff started his career in biotechnology working as an associate at Cooley Godward, where he advised life science companies on numerous business and legal matters.
About Immunovant
Immunovant, a member of the Roivant family of companies, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies that are designed to not only treat the symptoms, but also modify the course, of autoimmune disease. Immunovant's lead program is IMVT-1401, a novel, fully human anti-FcRn monoclonal antibody in development as a subcutaneous formulation for the treatment of autoimmune diseases mediated by pathogenic IgG antibodies.
About Roivant Sciences
Roivant aims to improve health by rapidly delivering innovative medicines and technologies to patients. Roivant does this by building Vants – nimble, entrepreneurial biotech and healthcare technology companies with a unique approach to sourcing talent, aligning incentives, and deploying technology to drive greater efficiency in R&D and commercialization.
SOURCE Immunovant
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