10 January 2023 - - US-based biotechnology company Pheast Therapeutics has appointed Jacopo Leonardi as chief executive officer, the company said.

Leonardi brings more than 25 years of executive leadership spanning commercial and research and development sectors for global pharmaceutical companies as well as experience in building new companies focused on developing novel therapeutics for high unmet medical needs.

Leonardi serves as a Venture Advisor to Agent Capital and on the board of directors of AIS Healthcare and recently served on the boards of Carbon Biosciences and Pyxis Oncology.

Previously, he served in key development and leadership roles in general management, R&D, new product planning, marketing, and sales at Horizon Therapeutics, Baxalta, Baxter Healthcare, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson.

At Baxalta, Leonardi was executive vice president and president of Immunology and was a member of the Executive Leadership Team that spun Baxalta out of Baxter Healthcare, which was subsequently acquired by Shire PLC.

Pheast completed its series A financing of USD 76m in April 2022, led by high profile investors, Catalio Capital Management and Arch Venture Partners.

Pheast is a preclinical stage immuno-oncology company focused on targeting cancer immune evasion pathways to activate the innate immune system in the fight against cancer.

Founded in 2020 as a spinout from Stanford University and led by scientific experts in innate immunity and cancer immunotherapy, Pheast is aiming to develop novel therapies for some of the most difficult-to-treat and aggressive cancers.