BiomX Ltd, a microbiome company developing customised phage therapies, announced yesterday that it has named Dr Sailaja Puttagunta, MD, as its new chief medical officer.

Dr Puttagunta will manage the company's clinical development and strategy as it prepares to enter the clinic with its Acne and Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) programs. The company's Acne program is likely to enter the clinic in mid-2019, and the IBD program is expected to start clinical trials in 2020. Dr Puttagunta will be based in the United States' East Coast and will work closely with BiomX's Israeli management.

Dr Puttagunta was most recently vice president, Development at Iterum Therapeutics. Prior to Iterum, he served as VP, Medical Affairs for Anti-infectives at Allergan from early 2015 and was the VP of Development and Medical Affairs at Durata Therapeutics Inc prior to its acquisition by Actavis plc. From 2006 to 2012, Dr Puttagunta led teams within clinical development and medical affairs on various antibiotic compounds at Pfizer Inc. He has 20 years of clinical, academic and research experience in medicine and in the sub-specialty of infectious diseases.