Plexium, Inc.

SAN DIEGO and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Sept. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Creyon Bio, Inc. ("Creyon"), a clinical-stage leader in AI/machine learning-enabled engineering of oligonucleotide-based medicines (OBMs), has appointed two prominent venture capitalists, Serge Messerlian, Operating Partner at DCVC Bio, and Shaquille Vayda, Principal at Lux Capital to serve on its Board of Directors. “We are excited to welcome Serge and Shaq officially to our Board of Directors, and their extensive experience in life sciences and technology aligns with Creyon’s mission to reimagine drug development through AI-enabled engineering of oligonucleotide-based medicines,” said Chris Hart, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Creyon Bio. “Their insight and strategic guidance has been immensely valuable to date as observers and will be instrumental as Creyon advances best-in-class clinical assets created with its pioneering platform of oligonucleotide-based medicines.” Mr. Messerlian brings extensive leadership experience in the life science industry, across various therapeutic areas including hematology, oncology, immunology, and rare diseases. He is Operating Partner at DCVC Bio and currently serves on the boards of Auron Therapeutics and Plexium. He previously served as CEO of Teon Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology biotech, and President of Janssen Oncology, a Johnson & Johnson company. Mr. Messerlian has also held executive leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson's Actelion, Baxalta, and Baxter International. He holds a B.S. in Physiology & Biotechnology and an M.S. in Molecular Genetics from McGill University, as well as an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. “The potential applications of Creyon’s foundational technology are vast,” said Mr. Messerlian. “I look forward to working with the Creyon team as they transform the industry standard paradigm from drug discovery to drug engineering.” Mr. Vayda brings diverse experience spanning technology, aerospace, and life sciences, with a focus on discovery and delivery platforms; molecular, phenotypic and computational tools; synthetic biology; and data infrastructure. He is currently Principal at Lux Capital and serves on the boards of several companies including Anagenex, Atavistik, Enveda Biosciences, Gandeeva Therapeutics, LabGenius, Nomic Bio, and Rivet. Prior to joining Lux Capital, Mr. Vayda worked at Parthenon in San Francisco, where he advised private equity and growth equity firms on enterprise technology and healthcare investments. His experience in the life sciences industry includes a position at Illumina, seeing firsthand the impact DNA sequencing has had on ending human suffering. Mr. Vayda's career also spans the aerospace and defense sector with prior roles at NASA and Northrop Grumman. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida. “Creyon is at the forefront of creating the future of medicine by developing the fundamental building blocks that will revolutionize how oligonucleotides are engineered for both safety and targeted delivery to the right cells and tissues,” said Mr. Vayda. “This aligns well with my passion for investing at the intersection of technology and natural sciences. I look forward to being part of Creyon’s growth journey.” About Creyon Bio, Inc.Creyon Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing best-in-class precision medicines with industry-leading efficiency through molecular engineering of Oligonucleotide-Based Medicines (OBMs). These include antisense oligonucleotides, siRNAs, and aptamers. The company is changing how novel OBMs are created, transforming the process from drug discovery to drug engineering. Creyon has built the first and only platform capable of engineering for safety first, translating new target discoveries to OBMs with optimal pharmacological properties. Coupled with our aptamer-based delivery technologies, Creyon is unlocking the full potential of OBMs for common and rare diseases alike. Our platform has already demonstrated promising results in a n-of-1 clinical trial, rapidly progressing from concept to patient treatment in just 13 months. To learn more, visit creyonbio.com. Media Contact Jon YuCreyonPR@westwicke.com

The Novo Nordisk and Neomorph deal is worth approximately $1.46bn in upfront and milestone-based payments across multiple targets. Image Credit: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock. Novo Nordisk has signed a collaboration and licensing agreement with US-based biotech Neomorph to discover and develop multiple molecular glue degraders for cardiometabolic disorders and rare diseases. The deal is worth approximately $1.46bn in upfront and milestone-based payments and covers multiple targets. While Neomorph will be responsible for the discovery and preclinical research, Novo will have exclusive rights to further clinical development and commercialisation. Neomorph will also be entitled to tiered royalties on sales from these candidates. Neomorph is a venture capital-backed startup established in 2020. The company raised $109m in Series A the same year it was founded. Neomorph’s proprietary glue discovery platform aims to develop therapeutics against ‘undruggable’ targets— those without a differentiated protein binding target. Targeted protein degraders , especially molecular glue, have been a growing area of interest in recent years. Most of these therapies are developed as treatments for cancers. According to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence drug database, more than 200 therapies that are tagged under molecular glue drugs are currently in development. See Also: Pelage secures funds to develop regenerative medicine for hair loss Amneal signs agreement with Zambon for Parkinson’s disease therapy GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology . Several top pharmaceutical companies have invested in developing protein degrader therapies in recent years. In December 2023, MSD signed a collaboration and licensing agreement potentially worth $2.5bn with C4 Therapeutics to develop degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs), designed to selectively target and neutralise disease-causing proteins in cancer cells. In September 2023, Seagen partnered with Nurix Therapeutics to develop DACs for cancer treatment. Seagen and its antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) technology was then acquired by Pfizer to bolster its oncology portfolio . Apart from oncology, protein degraders are also being developed in other indications. Sanofi and Kymera Therapeutics ’ protein degrader is currently in Phase II trials as a treatment of atopic dermatitis and hidradenitis suppurativa. Both trials are expected to be completed in Q1 2025. In 2022, AbbVie partnered with Plexium to develop targeted protein degrader therapies for neurological conditions.

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Plexium, Inc. (Plexium), a leading next-generation targeted protein degradation (TPD) company, today announced the appointment of Michael Martin, Ph.D. as President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Martin joins Plexium following his 12-year tenure at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, serving most recently as the Global Head of the Center for External Innovation where he was a key member of Takeda's Leadership Team. While in this role, he was responsible for external research & development activities including Business Development, Search & Evaluation, Strategy & Operations, Academic Alliances, and Takeda Ventures, Inc. "Mike brings tremendous experience to Plexium as a scientific executive, global R&D leader, venture investor and corporate board member. He has led the strategic, global development of highly innovative therapies, with significant expertise in accelerating and establishing valuable pipelines driven by novel biology and drug targets," said Mike Grey, Executive Chairman of Plexium. "I look forward to working with Mike to advance our clinical-stage pipeline and progressing more TPD programs against important cancer targets into the clinic." Dr. Martin added, "I am proud to join the established team at Plexium and am eager to work together towards developing transformative therapies for difficult to treat cancers and other diseases. I believe that Plexium is well positioned for success with the recent advancement of PLX-4545 into Phase 1 and the advancing preclinical pipeline of small molecule monovalent degraders of SMARCA2, CDK2 and c-Raf. I am excited to lead Plexium and continue to build a leading TPD company focused on improving patients' lives." Dr. Martin joined Takeda in 2012 and prior to his most recent role, he was President of Takeda Ventures, Inc., Takeda's corporate venture capital company. Dr. Martin also previously held executive and scientific roles with Intellikine Inc. (acquired by Takeda), TargeGen, Inc. (acquired by Sanofi-Aventis), Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Pfizer) and Monsanto Corporation (acquired by Bayer). Dr. Martin holds a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from University of Illinois, a M.S. in Analytical Chemistry and B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics. Dr. Martin has extensive experience as a corporate board member, for both private and publicly traded companies, and has acted as an advisor to several notable biotech investment funds in the United States, Europe, and Japan. About Plexium Inc. Plexium Inc. is the premier, next-generation Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) company seeking to discover monovalent direct degraders and molecular glues to address difficult-to-drug targets for the treatment of cancer. The company's proprietary drug discovery platform is designed to identify novel small molecules that induce selective degradation of pathogenic proteins through E3 ligase mediated proteasomal degradation. Plexium is advancing a pipeline of novel targeted monovalent direct degraders and molecular glues for the treatment of cancer and has also entered into a strategic collaboration with AbbVie to expand the potential of TPD to neurological conditions. For more information, visit and engage with us on LinkedIn. Plexium Investor and Media Contact: Amy Conrad Juniper Point [email protected] 858-366-3243 SOURCE Plexium