CAMBRIDGE, Mass.– Rheos Medicines, a biopharmaceutical company bringing molecular targeting and precision treatment to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Katerina Leftheris, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President of Drug Discovery, and Nabil Uddin, Pharm.D., as Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.
“We are delighted to be growing the Rheos leadership team with the addition of these two accomplished industry leaders, deepening our expertise in key areas of our science and business to support our future growth,” said Barbara Fox, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Rheos. “Katerina brings extensive experience in small molecule drug discovery and a successful track record for advancing drug candidates to the clinic in a range of therapeutic areas. Nabil’s diverse expertise across strategy, operations and business development functions in the biopharma industry and his proven skills in developing strategies in new market areas will be invaluable as Rheos evolves our pipeline opportunities.”
Katerina Leftheris, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery
“I look forward to applying my experience to help advance Rheos’s pipeline to develop precision medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Dr. Leftheris. “I see tremendous potential for the company’s pioneering approach to targeting fundamental metabolic underpinnings of immune system dysfunction while also identifying the molecular signatures for patient subsets. It is exciting to be part of a new drug development paradigm at Rheos to address the heterogeneity of immune-mediated diseases and take on the vast unmet needs of patients.”
Katerina Leftheris, Ph.D., brings over 20 years of small molecule drug discovery and development experience, including multiple drug assets in Phase 1, 2 and 3 targeting immune modulation, fibrosis, oncology and immuno-oncology indications. Throughout her career, she has led teams that advanced more than 15 small molecule drug compounds into clinical development spanning many molecular targets. Most recently, she was Vice President of Chemistry at Pliant Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on novel treatments for fibrotic diseases. Katerina helped build Pliant’s drug discovery capabilities which led to two drugs in the clinic (one partnered with Novartis) for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and NASH with a third compound focused on immuno-oncology in early development. Previously, Katerina was Senior Director in Discovery for Celgene, San Diego, where she built and led teams in advancing five novel clinical candidates in immunology and oncology. Earlier in her career, she served in R&D roles at Vitae Pharmaceuticals and at Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Discovery Oncology and Immunology Chemistry group. Katerina was elected to the National Council of the American Chemical Society and she has authored over 135 publications and issued patents. She earned a B.A. in chemistry/biochemistry from Smith College, a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, San Diego and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Nabil Uddin, Pharm.D., Vice President, Strategy & Business Development
“This is an exciting time to join Rheos as the company makes progress with its precision medicine approach to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, moves its first drug candidate toward the clinic, and further evolves its pipeline,” said Dr. Uddin. “I am eager to leverage my experience to support the company’s growth, and I look forward to working with the talented Rheos team to achieve our shared goals and mission to make a difference in the lives of patients across many diseases.”
Nabil Uddin, Pharm.D., joins Rheos with over 15 years of experience across strategic and operational functions, including program and alliance management, portfolio planning, corporate strategy and business development. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Corporate Development at Concert Pharmaceuticals where he was responsible for corporate strategy, business development, program management and commercial planning. Nabil joined Concert to provide strategic and operational leadership for a program in cystic fibrosis that was ultimately acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Concert, Nabil worked at Seaside Therapeutics, a company focused on neurodevelopmental disorders such as Fragile X Syndrome and autism spectrum disorders. Earlier in his career he served as a consultant providing strategic planning and program management services. Nabil earned a B.Sc. in Biology from McMaster University, a Pharm.D. from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
