ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, Oct. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Araris Biotech AG (“Araris”), a company developing ADCs using its proprietary linker-payload technology, today announced the appointment of Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D., to acting chief executive officer (CEO). Dr. Grabulovski brings nearly 20 years in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development, fundraising and scientific leadership to the company. Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., will transition from CEO to chief scientific officer (CSO).
“I am honored to have served as a founding CEO for Araris since its inception,” said Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., CSO of Araris. “I’m highly enthusiastic as Dragan assumes leadership and we continue to successfully execute against our business strategy while looking for a long-term CEO. To date, we have made tremendous advances in the development of ADCs, have attracted an esteemed group of investors and believe we are at the forefront of unlocking the full potential of ADCs and their impact on improving outcomes for patients with a variety of cancers. As we near the filing of our first IND, Dragan’s leadership and experience in drug development will be critical to our success.”
Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D., acting chief executive officer of Araris, added, “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as Araris’ acting CEO during this pivotal time of growth. Building on the excellent framework developed by Philipp and the entire Araris team, I truly believe we are well-positioned to potentially shift the paradigm in how we think about developing targeted cancer therapies. I would like to thank Philipp for his significant contributions as founding CEO and look forward to continuing our collaboration at the company for years to come.”
A serial entrepreneur, Dr. Grabulovski currently serves as chairman of the board at Araris and is an advisor at Grabulovski Consulting Services where he provides guidance to emerging life sciences companies on a variety of issues related to their drug discovery and development efforts. Prior to his practice, Dr. Grabulovski served as CSO and co-founder of Covagen AG, a Swiss biotech company where he was instrumental in closing a $45M Series B round that attracted renowned investors, including GIMV, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Novartis Venture Fund and others. The company was eventually acquired in 2014 by Cilag GmbH International, a division of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. In addition to this experience, Dr. Grabulovski was the primary inventor of Covagen’s Fynomer technology and is the co-author of several peer-reviewed articles, reviews, book chapters, patent applications and granted patents. Dr. Grabulovski earned his master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and his Doctorate of Sciences from the ETH Zurich.
About Araris Biotech AG
Araris Biotech is a pioneering leader in the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with the potential for unparalleled efficacy and tolerability. With a strong commitment to transforming the landscape of ADCs, Araris leverages its proprietary, ready-to-use linker-payload platforms and site-specific conjugation techniques to create a new frontier in targeted therapeutics. The company’s innovative approach ensures that ADCs are generated to be highly efficacious and tolerable as exemplified in a number of experiments using its topoisomerase- and auristatin- based linker-payloads, providing patients with groundbreaking treatment options for diseases of high unmet medical needs.
For more information, please visit www.ararisbiotech.com or follow Araris on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Corporate Contact:
Dragan Grabulovski, Ph.D.
Acting Chief Executive Officer
info@ararisbiotech.com
www.ararisbiotech.com
Media Contact:
Veronica Eames
LifeSci Communications, LLC
veames@lifescicomms.com
646-970-4682
