SAN DIEGO, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VETmAb Biosciences (VETmAb BIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformative biologics for pets, today announced the appointment of Katja Buhrer as Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Buhrer brings operational and strategic leadership experience across animal and human biotechnology, including as a senior executive at Kindred Biosciences (KindredBio), where she worked alongside members of VETmAb BIO’s founding team.
Ms. Buhrer previously served as Chief Operating Officer of KindredBio during its integration into Elanco Animal Health, following the company’s acquisition in 2021. Earlier at KindredBio, she was Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations, served as Chief of Staff, and led business development and the M&A process that culminated in the acquisition. As COO of VETmAb BIO, she will oversee corporate operations, strategy, business development, and investor relations.
“Katja was an integral part of the team that built KindredBio, and we’re delighted to be working together again,” said Denise Bevers, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of VETmAb BIO and a co-founder of KindredBio. “Following recent positive proof-of-concept results, we’re entering a new phase focused on advancing our lead program into pivotal development and delivering multiple milestones across our broader pipeline. Katja brings the operational leadership, strategic perspective, and capital markets experience to help us scale the business and capitalize on the opportunities ahead.”
Ms. Buhrer’s appointment follows VETmAb BIO’s announcement of positive clinical proof-of-concept results for VMB-C001a, its long-acting anti-IL-23 monoclonal antibody for canine chronic inflammatory enteropathy, which the Company plans to advance toward pivotal development. VMB-C001a leads a five-program pipeline targeting chronic conditions spanning gastrointestinal, immune-mediated, and metabolic disease in dogs and cats.
“Having seen firsthand what this team can accomplish, the opportunity to work together again is even more compelling the second time around,” said Ms. Buhrer. “Biologics have now established blockbuster categories in animal health, yet significant opportunities remain to address large, underserved chronic diseases. VETmAb BIO combines that proven track record with a compelling pipeline and a capital-efficient development model to bring the next generation of transformative biologics to pets.”
Following KindredBio’s acquisition by Elanco, Ms. Buhrer held senior executive positions in human biotechnology as Chief Strategy Officer at ObsEva and Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Strategy at Century Therapeutics. Her experience also includes earlier roles in banking and financial reporting, including in capital markets and trading at Citigroup and at the Australian Financial Review. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce/Arts from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
About VETmAb Biosciences
VETmAb Biosciences’ mission is to bring the breakthrough medicines transforming human health to the dogs and cats who share our lives. The clinical-stage company engineers species-specific biologics against clinically validated human drug targets, focusing on large chronic diseases with no approved therapies. Its capital-efficient development model supports a pipeline of five programs in chronic inflammatory enteropathy, immune-mediated disease, and metabolic disease. VETmAb BIO’s founding team previously built Kindred Biosciences, a Nasdaq-listed company acquired by Elanco in 2021, and that led to four veterinary product approvals. VETmAb BIO is privately held and headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, visit www.vetmab.bio.
Contact
Katja Buhrer
Chief Operating Officer
katja.buhrer@vetmab.bio
+1-917-969-3438
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9fc59422-4605-4ad7-b6a4-1f37c90f8e47
