Six months after launching with $60 million, Cambridge, Mass.-based Rheos Medicines has tapped Roche veteran Sanjay Keswani as the startup’s new chief executive officer.
Six months after launching with $60 million, Cambridge, Mass.-based Rheos Medicines has tapped Roche veteran Sanjay Keswani as the startup’s new chief executive officer.
Keswani takes over the role of CEO from Abbie Celniker, who will remain on the company board of directors as its chairwoman. Celniker is a partner at Third Rock Ventures, the venture capital group that launched Rheos. She had served as its interim-CEO since the launch.
Rheos launched with a focus on immune cell metabolism as a way to treat disease. The company’s immunometabolism approach targets the underlying cellular metabolism of immune cells. Rheos said this focus will “redirect the fate and function of specific cell types” to treat those immune-related diseases. The company’s product engine, an integrated immune cell metabolism and physiology platform, was developed to characterize how different immune cell types impact disease progression in different patient subpopulations, according to data provided by Rheos.
On its website, Rheos points to a number of indications it is aiming its development pipeline at, including irritable bowel disease, psoriasis, immuno-oncology, asthma and multiple sclerosis. Rheos’ website lists three different drug discovery programs that remain in the early development stages. The company programs are targeting CD4 T-Cells and CD8 T-Cells. The company is also focused on macrophage, which is often found at the site of an infection.
Keswani joins Rheos from a stint at global pharma giant Roche, where he served as global head of neuroscience, ophthalmology and rare diseases for Roche Pharma Research and Early Development. Keswani said he was excited to be part of the “pioneering effort” Rheos is making in immunometabolism.
“There is an immense opportunity to change the therapeutic paradigm for treating diseases that involve the immune system, and Rheos is ideally positioned to set a new standard by targeting the underlying cellular metabolism of immune cells to treat a wide range of diseases,” Keswani said in a statement.
Celniker, the outgoing interim CEO, said Keswani is an ideal fit for the company, particularly when the “productivity of the company’s product engine ramps up to generate initial drug programs.” Celniker added that Keswani’s broad experience in developing different therapeutics across multiple indications, as well as his long track record in the industry, make him ideally suited for the role of CEO at Rheos.
Prior to his stint at Roche, Keswani served as head of exploratory and clinical translational research at Bristol-Myers Squibb. In that role, he was responsible for multiple areas, including immunology, neuroscience, rare diseases, fibrosis and virology. In addition to that role, Keswani also held leadership roles in research and development at Amgen and Eli Lilly. Keswani also served as an assistant professor in neurology at Johns Hopkins University.
