September 15, 2020 — Ventus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel small-molecule medicines that target the innate immune system, announced today that it has appointed Steven P. James to its Board of Directors.
Mr. James is a proven biopharmaceutical industry leader with over 30 years of experience growing and building value in innovative companies. Currently, Mr. James is Chief Executive Officer and director of Pionyr Immunotherapeutics. Previously he served as CEO of Labrys Biologics until its acquisition by Teva Pharmaceuticals and as CEO of KAI Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Amgen.
“Steve’s experience building pioneering, science-driven companies, as well as his ability to generate value during the process, will be a critical resource for Ventus as we realize our vision of unlocking the biology of the innate immune system to develop innovative medicines,” said Marcelo Bigal, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Ventus. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with him in the past, and I know firsthand how impactful it is to work alongside of Steve. I wholeheartedly welcome Steve to our team, and I am excited to be working together with him again to help leverage our Structural Immunology platform and advance our pipeline.”
“Ventus has made breakthrough advances in structure-based drug design for several high-value innate immunity targets enabling first- and best-in-class drug discovery opportunities,” said Mr. James. “I look forward to working with the experienced leadership and scientific teams as they leverage their unique know-how and technologies to create unprecedented medicines.”
Steve James is a biopharmaceutical leader who has built multiple successful companies and led the discovery and development of approved drugs. He has been a director of Pionyr Immunotherapeutics since 2015 and the president and CEO since 2017. Prior to Pionyr, he was president and CEO of Labrys Biologics from 2012 until it was acquired by Teva Pharmaceuticals in 2014. Prior to Labrys, Steve was president and CEO of KAI Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Amgen. He has held leadership positions at Exelixis, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, and began his career at Eli Lilly. He holds a Masters in Management from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University and an undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Brown University. He serves as a trustee of Middlebridge School in Rhode Island.
Steve is currently chairman of Antiva Biosciences and Soteria Therapeutics and a director of Allakos Inc. He was formerly a director of Ocera Inc. (acquired by Mallinkrodt) and Cascadian Therapeutics (acquired by Seattle Genetics).
About Ventus Therapeutics
Ventus Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel small molecule medicines that target the innate immune system to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases and cancer. Our Structural Immunology platform offers unprecedented insight into mechanisms and molecular structures, combining core capabilities for precisely targeting the innate immune system: proprietary protein engineering capabilities that elucidate innate immune mechanisms, and leading-edge rational and structure-based drug design tools. Ventus has built an emerging pipeline of multiple drug programs addressing key targets in the innate immune system. Our team combines experienced biopharmaceutical leadership with a founding team of leading scientists whose discoveries have opened a new understanding of innate immune system mechanisms. Ventus is backed by Versant Ventures, its founding investor, and GV (formerly Google Ventures). The company has locations in Boston, Massachusetts and Montreal, Canada. For more information, please visit www.ventustx.com and engage with us on Twitter @Ventus_Tx or on LinkedIn.
