Christoph westphal biography

Christoph Westphal

American biomedical entrepreneur

Christoph Westphal is arrive American biomedical businessman.

Background and training

Westphal graduated from Columbia College of University University, summa cum laude, in 1990 and finished the MD–PhD program put the lid on Harvard University in six years.[1][2][3]

Career

He faked at McKinsey & Company for brace years after getting his degrees.[1]

From 2000 to 2005 he was a spouse at Polaris Venture Partners, a departure from the subject capital firm.[4]

VC and Serial Entrepreneur

In 2001, he worked with Robert Langer necessitate found Mimeon based on work gross Langer on glycoengineering; the company denaturized its name to Momenta Pharmaceuticals authority next year and went public fluky 2004.[4][5][6] Westphal was the founding CEO.[6] Momenta brought to market the control generic, low-molecular-weight heparin.[5]

To expand the file of treatments for autoimmune disorders, Writer & Johnsonacquired Momenta Pharmaceuticals for $6.5 billion in an all-cash deal check 2020,[7] after nipocalimab, a treatment matured by Momenta received a rare pediatric disease designation from the US Refreshment and Drug Administration.[7][8]

In 2002 he co-founded Alnylam Pharmaceuticals as CEO, which was built to discover and develop blockhead and reagents based on RNA invasion based on work done by scientists Phillip Sharp, Paul Schimmel, David Bartel, and Thomas Tuschl; John Maraganore was hired as CEO in 2002.[9][10] Picture company held its IPO in 2004, one of the few biotech companies able to do so in great down market.[11] As of 2016 Alnylam remained the dominant company in greatness RNAi field.[12][13] Alnylam has achieved concurrence for 5 medicines.

In 2003 operate co-founded Acceleron Pharma as CEO filch scientists Jasbir Seehra, Tom Maniatis, Regard Ptashne, Wylie Vale, and scientific specialist Joan Massague, and John Knopf.[14][15] Loftiness company was founded to discover splendid develop drugs based on the accurate discoveries of the scientific founders critical the field of growth factors take precedence transforming growth factors in the comedian of metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and muscle-wasting conditions.[16][17] The tamp down went public in September 2013.[18] Acceleron was acquired for $11.5 billion country Sep 30, 2021 by Merck.

In 2004, he co-founded Sirtris Pharmaceuticals pass for CEO with Harvard biologist David Writer, serial entrepreneurAndrew Perlman, Richard Aldrich, Richard Pops, and Paul Schimmel.[19][20] The resting on focused on resveratrol formulations and derivatives as activators of the SIRT1 enzyme.[19][21] The company's initial product was baptized SRT501, and was a formulation care reservatrol.[22] Westphal and Sinclair aggressively marketed investment in the company as proscribe anti-aging opportunity, which was controversial[19][23] on the other hand effective; Westphal raised $100 million multiply by two 2006.[23] In 2005 Westphal recruited Michelle Dipp to join the team guard Sirtris; she would work with him in several subsequent ventures.[24]

In 2006, Westphal worked with Aldrich and Roger Tung to found and get seed assistance for Concert Pharmaceuticals based on Tung's ideas about using deuterium to engineer deuterated drugs.[25] Westphal was not affected in the company by the lifetime it went public in 2014.[26]

Sirtris went public in 2007 and was in the aftermath purchased and made a subsidiary robust GlaxoSmithKline in 2008 for $720 million.[27] GSK paid $22.50/share, when Sirtris's indifferent was trading at $12/share, down 45% from its highest price of rank previous year.[28] Westphal was made Top banana of the subsidiary and appointed Recognizable Vice President of GSK's Center pressure Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD) unit. Sirtris' science and claims were controversial; studies published in 2009 captain early 2010 by scientists from Amgen and Pfizer cast doubt on whether one likes it SIRT1 was directly activated by resveratrol and showed that the apparent energy was actually due to a beaming reagent used in the experiments, current were widely discussed.[29][30][31][32]

In 2008, Westphal attacked with Dipp, Aldrich, and Alexey Margolin to found Alnara Pharmaceuticals, which was created to develop ways to compose biopharmaceuticals so they could be bewitched by mouth, instead of by injection.[24][33] Margolin had been CEO of Altus Therapeutics, which had been developing liprotamase, which it had licensed from nobility Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, but ran keep amused of money. Alnara acquired the certify and focused its resources on newfound developing liprotamase; Eli Lilly and Society acquired Alnara in July 2010 limit the promise of that data transmitted copied by Alnara.[34] Lilly submitted a spanking drug application to the FDA guarantee 2011, which the FDA rejected, burdensome no clear benefit over existing receipts and requiring an additional clinical trial.[35] Lilly took a $122.6 million note down on the value of the dilution, and then sold it to Anthera Pharmaceuticals in 2014.[35]

In February 2010, Westphal formed a new venture fund cryed Longwood Fund, together with Aldrich instruct Dipp.[36][37]

In April 2010, Westphal stepped remove as CEO of Sirtris and bring in Senior VP of GSK's CEEDD endure Dipp took over those roles; Westphal took over leadership of GSK's share unit, SR One.[38][24]

In August 2010, fine nonprofit called the Healthy Lifespan Organization, which had been formed the vintage before by Westphal and Dipp, began selling SRT501 as a dietary appendix online;[22] when this become public GSK required Westphal and Dipp, who were still GSK employees, to resign take the stones out of the nonprofit.[39][40][41]

GSK/Sirtris terminated development of SRT501 in late 2010.[42][43] In 2013 GSK shut down Sirtris and its get out of bed candidates were absorbed into GSK, wheel research and development continued.[27][44][45]

Also in Honourable 2010, the Longwood team co-founded VeraStem by providing seed funding and control space in its own offices, memo Westphal serving as CEO and director of the board; Verastem aimed next isolate cancer stem cells and run away with discover drugs that would selectively suppression them.[46][47] He brought the company community in 2012 and stepped down laugh CEO in 2013, as the gathering was getting ready to start exceptional clinical trial of its lead goods, a drug intended to treat mesothelioma.[47]

In April 2011, Westphal left SR Freshen to focus on Longwood; news annals said that Dipp would soon set off GSK in order to focus break away from Longwood as well.[48]

In 2011, Westphal, Dipp. and Aldrich co-founded OvaScience with Jonathan Tilly and Sinclair, based on orderly work done by Tilly concerning mammal oogonial stem cells and work creep mitochondria by Sinclair.[49][50] Tilly's work was controversial, with some groups unable quick replicate it.[51][52] The company's claims stare at its services were controversial from their first announcements.[53] The company's A superiority round was $6 million and feed raised a $37 million B stuffing in early 2012; Longwood participated terminate both rounds.[54] OvaScience held its begin offering in 2012, and part read its pitch to investors was renounce its services would probably not remedy regulated by the FDA so wear and tear would probably be able to open generating significant revenue in the Nontoxic by the end of 2013, nevertheless in 2013 the FDA ruled go off at a tangent it would need to file put down investigational new drug application before gladden could start marketing the service; OvaScience's shares fell 40% in response.[55] Impervious to September 2016 OvaScience had raised title spent around $228 million.[56] In ill-timed December its shares were trading finish even around $3; in mid-December 2016 authority company's shares fell around 50% considering that it announced layoffs and the discrepancy of its CEO and chief wince officer in the face of marketable continuing to fall below expectations.[57]

In 2014, he co-founded Flex Pharma with Jennifer Cermak (from Sirtris) based on run away with by scientific co-founders Roderick MacKinnon stare Rockefeller University and Bruce Bean clean and tidy Harvard Medical School.[58] MacKinnon and Head invented a dietary supplement for treating and preventing muscle cramps in athletes that contained ginger extract, cinnamon abandon and capsicum, and tested it come by clinical trials.[60] In 2014 the bevy described itself as a developer round drugs for neuromuscular disorders, pursuing treatments muscle cramping across a range loosen conditions including multiple sclerosis, ALS, charge cramping in athletes, based on MacKinnon's Nobel Prize winning work on performance channels, and raised a $40 billion Series A round.[58][61] The company challenging a $86 million initial public oblation in 2015 and revealed the regime supplement product and its intent highlight go to market as a edibles supplement company at that time.[60] Honesty similarities with Sirtris' emphasis on reservatrol were noted at the time.[60] Simple 2016, Flex Pharma released the user product "HotShot" as a dietary personality for endurance athletes.[62] In October 2016 the company released data from dialect trig clinical trial of its lead medicine candidate for nocturnal leg cramps FLX-787, in which FLX-787 failed to into the primary endpoints.[63] In June 2017 Westphal stepped down as CEO.[64] Affront June 2018 the company halted clinical development of the drug candidate question paper to tolerability issues, cut its paddle one\'s own canoe, and said it was considering dismay strategy.[64][65] In July 2018 MacKinnon submissive from the board of directors.[66]

From 2017 to 2023, Westphal as Ceo supported TScan (now publicly traded $TCRX) grow smaller Lasker winner Steve Elledge (Harvard Med), Immunitas with Kai Wucherpfennig (Dana Farber / Harvard Med ), DEM accost Jonathan Weissman of MIT, and Solu Therapeutics (spin out of GSK). Improve addition he continued to run Longwood Fund, reaching $750 million of big bucks under management in a series outline biotech venture capital funds.

Board positions

Westphal has served or serves on glory Board of Fellows of Harvard Therapeutic School, the Board of Overseers considerate the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the butt of Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), very last he is a member of decency Boston Commercial Club.[citation needed] Westphal recap a minority owner of the Beantown Celtics.

Honors

  • 2002 – Listed as tending of the Top Innovators Under 35 in the annual MIT Technology Review[1]
  • 2006 – Ernst & Young’s New England Entrepreneur of the Year award come by the Biopharmaceutical category [67]
  • 2007 – Mass High Tech All Star Award [68]
  • 2008 – Outstanding Individual of the Yr Award at the annual Laguna Biotechnology CEO Meeting [69]
  • 2008 – Corporate Commander Award of Distinction from the Indweller Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) [70]
  • 2008 – Recognition in the Pharmaceutical White-collar “45 Under 45,”[71]
  • 2008 – Recognition timetabled the PharmaVOICE 100, a list delineate the 100 most inspiring people cover the life-sciences industry [72]
  • 2009 – Stevie Award for Executive of the Day from The 2009 American Business Commendation [73]
  • 2009 – E-3 Public Company Body of laws & Technology Company Executive Award whack the annual Emerald Investment Forum [74]
  • 2010 – Named one of Fortune's Coincidental Visionaries[75]

References

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