LEXINGTON, Mass., April 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaleido Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KLDO), a clinical-stage healthcare company with a differentiated, chemistry-driven approach to leveraging the potential of the microbiome organ to treat disease and improve human health, today announced the appointment of Johan van Hylckama Vlieg, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and Clare Fisher as Chief Business Officer.
“I am pleased that we continue to attract world-class leaders to Kaleido. Johan and Clare bring deep experience in corporate and scientific strategy, translational research in the microbiome field and business development. They are joining us at an important time in our evolution as we further advance the science and business of Kaleido to improve human health and address unmet patient needs,” said Alison Lawton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kaleido.
Johannes van Hylckama Vlieg, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)
Dr. van Hylckama Vlieg will assume the role of CSO on July 1, 2019 reporting to Katharine Knobil, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development, and prior to that, he will serve as a scientific advisor and consultant to Kaleido. Dr. van Hylckama Vlieg has 25 years of experience leading teams and R&D programs in gut microbiology, probiotics and live biotherapeutics, and industrial biotechnology in industry and academia. Most recently, he served as Vice President for Microbiome and Human Health Innovation at Chr. Hansen in Denmark, responsible for new strain development for probiotic and therapeutic application, spanning discovery to clinical development and novel technology platforms. Previously, Dr. van Hylckama Vlieg worked at Danone Research and in several roles at NIZO Food Research. He completed his Ph.D. and post-doc in biochemistry at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
“I’m eager to bring my experience to Kaleido, a company with a novel approach to the microbiome and to discovery and development,” said Dr. van Hylckama Vlieg. “I look forward to building on the important work that’s already been accomplished to develop further the company’s proprietary product platform and advance its broad pipeline of Microbiome Metabolic Therapy candidates, with the goal of ultimately making a difference in patients’ lives.”
Clare Fisher, Chief Business Officer (CBO)
In her role as CBO, Ms. Fisher will report to Joshua Brumm, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and oversee corporate and business development. Ms. Fisher has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare, including leadership roles in corporate and business development. She joins Kaleido from Shire plc (now Takeda) where she most recently served as Group Vice President, Global Head of Transactions and Business Development and Interim Head of Corporate Development. While at Shire, Ms. Fisher led a global team across therapeutic areas, managing in-licensing agreements, asset collaborations, divestments, and M&A transactions. Previously, she held senior roles in business development at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Blueprint Medicines, and Genzyme Corporation. Ms. Fisher received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bath and an International M.B.A. from Henley Management College in the U.K.
“I’m excited to be joining Kaleido and see broad opportunity in its efficient discovery and development approach and pipeline that spans a number of therapeutic areas where patient needs are significant,” said Ms. Fisher. “I look forward to working with the Kaleido team to continue to foster external collaborations and partnerships that will help drive innovation and maximize the potential of the company’s product platform.”
About Kaleido Biosciences
Kaleido Biosciences is a clinical-stage healthcare company with a differentiated, chemistry-driven approach to leveraging the potential of the microbiome organ to treat disease and improve human health. The Company has built a human-centric proprietary product platform to enable the rapid and cost-efficient discovery and development of novel Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT™). MMTs are designed to modulate the metabolic output and profile of the microbiome by driving the function and distribution of the organ’s existing microbes. Kaleido is advancing a broad pipeline of MMT candidates with the potential to address a variety of diseases and conditions with significant unmet patient needs. To learn more, visit https://kaleido.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding the therapeutic potential of our MMT candidates and our strategy, business plans and focus. The words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those related to the breadth of our pipeline of product candidates, the strength of our proprietary product platform, the efficiency of our discovery and development approach, the clinical development and safety profile of our MMT candidates and their therapeutic potential, whether and when, if at all, our MMT candidates will receive approval form the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and for which, if any, indications, competition from other biotechnology companies, and other risks identified in our SEC filings, including our final prospectus for our initial public offering, and subsequent filings with the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. We explicitly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Contact
Amy Reilly
617-890-5721
amy.reilly@kaleido.com