SAN CARLOS, Calif., July 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Alkahest, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat age-related diseases, today announced the appointment of Robert Klein, Ph.D. as chief business officer.
“We are delighted to have Robert join our team as we approach critical milestones in the remainder of the year, including the launch of multiple additional phase 2 studies and anticipation of important clinical readouts,” said Karoly Nikolich, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Alkahest. “Having spent a large part of his career as a scientist and business development professional in the neuroscience field, Robert brings with him impressive business development, M&A, and financing acumen, a broad entrepreneurial background, and a deep understanding of Alkahest’s therapeutic approach. These will prove vital as we expand our broad proteomics platform, increase our partnering efforts, and continue our clinical development programs.”
Robert Klein is a business development professional with over two decades of experience in the biotechnology, diagnostics and genomics spaces. He has spent half his career working in neuroscience drug development as both a scientist and a business development professional. Robert joins Alkahest after having served as chief business officer at Complete Genomics and having held positions of chief executive officer at iKaryos Diagnostics, chief scientific officer at Amnestix, senior director of business development at Rinat Neuroscience and then Pfizer, and vice president of business and technology development at Deltagen. Robert started his career at Genentech, where he was a postdoctoral researcher and scientist in the neuroscience department. Robert earned his Ph.D. in biology from MIT and his bachelor of arts in biochemistry from U.C. Berkeley.
“I could not be more excited to join the Alkahest team as the company continues to execute multiple phase 2 trials across numerous areas of great unmet need,” said Dr. Klein. “The Alkahest platform focuses on the underlying biology of aging, the number one risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. By deeply studying the components of aging in human plasma, the team has identified therapeutic candidates for clinical evaluation in several devastating illnesses, an approach that I find particularly appealing both personally and professionally. I look forward to being part of a team focused on bringing these treatments to patients who otherwise have few or limited treatment options.”
About Alkahest
Alkahest is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to treating neurodegenerative and age-related diseases with transformative therapies targeting the aging plasma proteome. The Alkahest pipeline includes multiple therapeutic candidates ranging from selected plasma fractions to protein-targeted interventions which aim to slow the detrimental biological processes of aging. Alkahest is developing novel plasma-based therapies in collaboration with Grifols, a global healthcare company and leading producer of plasma therapies. For further information, see www.alkahest.com or follow us on Twitter @AlkahestInc.
Contact Information
Elizabeth Jeffords
Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer
Alkahest, Inc.
ejeffords@alkahest.com
Media Contact
Michael Tattory
LifeSci Public Relations
mtattory@lifescipublicrelations.com