Bruce L.A. Carter, PhD, and Paul Sekhri join Board of Directors, adding drug development and operating experience

Recent board additions highlight Kayothera’s evolution into pipeline-focused organization with meaningful translational efforts

Seattle, WA — October 14, 2024, Kayothera, Inc., a preclinical-stage therapeutics company developing first-in-class, oral, small molecule inhibitors of the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway, announced the appointment of Bruce L.A. Carter, PhD (Chairman), and Paul Sekhri to its Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Bruce Carter and Paul Sekhri to the Board of Kayothera,” stated Thong Q. Le, President & CEO. “Bruce and Paul bring substantial drug development expertise and have demonstrated a commitment to advancing therapeutic innovations that benefit patients in need. We look forward to their contributions, which will help ensure Kayothera’s long-term success.”

Bruce Carter, PhD, was the Chairman of the Board and former Chief Executive Officer of ZymoGenetics Inc., USA. He has also served as the Corporate Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer for Novo Nordisk A/S, the former parent company of ZymoGenetics. From 1982 to 1986, Dr. Carter held various positions of increasing responsibility at G.D. Searle & Co., Limited, including Head of Molecular Genetics. He was a lecturer at Trinity College, University of Dublin, from 1975 to 1982. Dr. Carter holds directorship in Enanta Pharmaceuticals, TB Alliance, and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited (India). Dr. Carter received his BS with Honors in Botany from the University of Nottingham, England, and his PhD in Microbiology from Queen Elizabeth College, London University, UK.

“I am thrilled to chair the Kayothera Board,” said Dr. Carter. “This is an exciting time as Kayothera’s KAYO-1732 candidate for type 2 diabetes progresses to IND and its candidate for solid tumors, KAYO-1609, enters Phase 1 trials. I look forward to working closely with Kayothera’s board and executive team as the company progresses its promising drug candidates.”

Paul Sekhri has over 30 years of experience in the Life Science Industry. His experience encompasses senior management in large corporate pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and private equity and venture capital. Mr. Sekhri is currently President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of vTv Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on diabetes. He most recently held the positions of President, CEO, and Chairman at eGenesis, Inc., from 2019 to 2022. Prior to eGenesis, he was President and CEO of Lycera Corp. from 2015 to 2019. Prior to Lycera, he served as Senior Vice President, Integrated Care for Sanofi from 2014-2015. Previously, he served as Chief Strategy Officer and Group Executive Vice President, Global Business Development for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. Prior to joining Teva, Mr. Sekhri spent five years as Operating Partner and Head of the Biotechnology Operating Group at TPG Biotech, the life sciences venture capital arm of TPG Capital. From 2004-2009, Mr. Sekhri was Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Before founding Cerimon, Mr. Sekhri was President and Chief Business Officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously, Mr. Sekhri spent five years at Novartis as Senior Vice President, and Head of Global Search and Evaluation, Business Development and Licensing for Novartis Pharma AG.

Mr. Sekhri has been a director on more than 35 private, public company, and non-profit boards and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of AdhereTech, Spring Discovery, and Veeva Systems Inc. Mr. Sekhri is also the Chairman of the Boards of Directors of Resolution Therapeutics, Compugen Ltd., Longboard Pharmaceuticals, and Kaerus Bioscience. Additionally, he is on the Board of Directors of The Metropolitan Opera, The English Concert in America, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Hall. Most recently, he was nominated as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Young Concert Artists, Inc.

“I look forward to collaborating with the Kayothera Board to guide the development of innovative medicines that address underserved patients in need,” stated Mr. Sekhri. “Kayothera’s focus on developing novel, first-in-class antagonists of the retinoid nuclear signaling pathway and dedication to bringing best-in-class drug candidates forward is a mission that I look forward to supporting.”

About Kayothera. Kayothera, Inc. is an early-stage therapeutics company focused on the development of first-in-class, oral, small-molecule inhibitors of the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway. This pathway is pathogenically activated in several cancers as well as multiple cardio-metabolic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. Kayothera is developing three distinct therapies, with KAYO-1732 in development as a disease-modifying treatment that controls blood glucose and lipid levels to prevent multiorgan degeneration in cardiometabolic syndrome and diabetes. KAYO-1609 has completed IND-enabling studies and is in development to treat late-stage and metastatic cancers, including pancreatic, prostate, gastric, and multiple other cancers. Kayothera is also developing a next-generation obesity therapy based on a genetically validated target in the retinoid nuclear receptor pathway. The company was founded based on discoveries from Dr. Mark Esposito’s post-doctoral research at Princeton University and Professor Yibin Kang, PhD. For more information, visit www.kayothera.com.