14 June 2019 - - US-based Celsius Therapeutics, a company translating single-cell genomic insights into precision therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases and cancer, has appointed Tariq Kassum, M.D., as president and chief executive officer, the company said.
Kassum brings nearly 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to Celsius.
He succeeds interim CEO Alexis Borisy, who will remain chairman of the company's board of directors.
Kassum joins the company from Obsidian Therapeutics, where he was a co-founder and served as chief operating officer and head of corporate development.
During this time, Kassum helped build Obsidian into a platform technology company and played a central role in the company's strategic partnership with Celgene.
Prior to Obsidian, Kassum spent seven years with Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Takeda, most recently as vice president, business development and strategy for Takeda Oncology, responsible for transactions, collaborations, alliance management and strategic planning.
He also led Takeda's global corporate development efforts, where he managed multiple acquisitions and divestitures.
Prior to Takeda, Kassum was an analyst covering healthcare equities for institutional investment firms, where he led diligence and investment decisions on numerous companies and pharmaceutical compounds.
He began his career as an investment banker with CIBC World Markets serving clients in the biotechnology and specialty pharmaceuticals industries. He holds an M.D. from University of Toronto and an A.B. from Cornell University.
Celsius Therapeutics is charting a new course of target and drug discovery by applying a systematic approach to single-cell sequencing of patient tissue, combining massive datasets, complex algorithms, and machine learning to discover first-in-class precision therapies with a transformative impact on the lives of patients with autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Celsius was launched in 2018, is backed by Third Rock Ventures and GV (formerly Google Ventures), and is based in Cambridge, Mass.