LNC Therapeutics Appoints New CEO and Advances Microbiome-Based Drug R&D

On April 17, 2018, LNC Therapeutics, a French biotech company, announced the appointment of Dr. Georges Rawadi as the company’s new CEO and discussed plans to advance development of gut microbiome-based drug candidates.

Prior to joining LNC Therapeutics, Rawadi, formerly a researcher at Institut Pasteur, served as vice-president of Business Development & Intellectual Property and a member of the management team at Celyad, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing next-generation chimeric antigen receptor-T cell (CAR-T) natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies for cancer treatment.

Previously, Rawadi successfully held various business development positions at Cellectis, Galapagos, ProStrakan, and Sanofi-Aventis and led strategic alliance development consulting assignments.

Drug development strategy

LNC Therapeutics' main objective is to develop new drug candidates with a mechanism of action based on microbiome interaction with gut. Targeted therapeutic indications are pathologies caused by metabolic or immune system deregulation, the company reports.

"The innovations resulting from our understanding of the microbiome are still in their infancy, and I am very proud to lead LNC Therapeutics' ambitions in this field," said Rawadi in a company press release. "Everything that has been accomplished so far, the result of collaborative work led by Sandrine Claus and the founding team, is a solid basis for exploring new ways of developing breakthrough therapies based on gut microbiome mechanisms. While the treatment of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases remain our first indications, we are now convinced that our work will enable us to expand to other therapeutic areas, and particularly towards severe diseases that still have no or limited effective treatment."

"With the arrival of Sandrine Claus and her scientific expertise, LNC has strengthened its research and development programs, and I am convinced that Georges Rawadi's leadership will enhance the company's ability to build partnerships and drive international ambitions. For my part, I will continue to support the new management team, focusing on the strategic components," Jean-Luc Treillou, former CEO and future chairman of LNC Therapeutics, added in the press release.

"LNC Therapeutics, one of the very promising companies in our microbiome portfolio, is now at a strategic stage in its evolution and is accelerating its development. Georges Rawadi is the right person to lead a very ambitious team and drive the various programs and clinical developments," said Isabelle de Crémoux, CEO of Seventure Partners and founder of Health for Life Capital, LNC Therapeutics' lead investor, in the press release.

Source: LNC Therapeutics