14 January 2021 - - US-based pharmaceutical company Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc has appointed James Frates as chief financial officer, effective Jan. 25, 2021, the company said.

Frates joins Amylyx following his tenure as CFO at Alkermes, since 1998.

Frates is an experienced leader who served as Alkermes CFO through its growth from a clinical stage company to an international commercial and development enterprise with multiple products, over USD 1bn in revenue and over 2000 employees.

Frates helped manage the company through numerous acquisitions and financings in the debt, equity and private markets. Prior to Alkermes, Frates worked as an investment banker at Robertson, Stephens and company and Morgan Stanley.

Frates currently serves on the board of Sage Therapeutics, Inc., The Roxbury Latin School and St. Francis House in Boston. He is a graduate of Harvard College and earned an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company working on developing a novel therapeutic for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.