Promakhos Therapeutics is excited to announce that Dr. Mary Christian has joined the company's scientific advisory board.

Dr. Christian is a pharmaceutical and biotech executive who delivers visionary, innovative solutions in complex landscapes. She has a diverse experience in drug development spanning from regulatory strategy to establishing external partnerships with key academic institutions in the US to drive common research and development goals. She has created high functioning, fit-for-purpose teams for emerging biotech, envisioned and built new capabilities in large pharma (e.g. Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology Strategic Collaborations, leading to success in >$50M in development partnerships), and led R&D efforts across a variety of therapeutic areas including but not limited to CNS, immunology, and immuno-oncology in all phases of development. She thrives where she is trusted, purpose-driven and ever-learning; strengths include collaborative problem solving, partnering for mutual success and diverse & inclusive leadership.                        

Dr. Christian is the Senior Vice President of Regulatory, Quality and Compliance at Lyndra Therapeutics, a rapidly growing clinical stage biotech whose mission is to reinvent medicine for a healthier world. Lyndra is developing a pipeline of long-acting oral therapies. The regulatory pathway to global approval is uncharted for products this unique; Dr. Christian is committed to leveraging 20+ years of regulatory and drug development experience, working with the stellar Lyndra team, to accelerate these important therapies to patients.  She also serves as a scientific advisor to several emerging biotech companies and lectures at MIT on Regulatory Strategies for developing drugs and devices.          

Prior to Lyndra, Dr. Christian was a founding team member of Cyclerion Therapeutics, a spinout of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals focused on serious and orphan diseases, where she led Regulatory, Quality and Pharmacovigilance.  She was Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals where she transformed the Regulatory organization and successfully negotiated approval of a stalled marketing application for Linzess® in China, advanced rare disease assets into Phase 1 and 2 and built organization models that enabled the spinoff.

Prior to joining the world of biotech in Boston, Dr. Christian created and led successful and innovative teams at Bristol-Myers Squibb by identifying novel ways to accelerate research and the delivery of medicines to patients globally. Dr. Christian also held roles of increasing responsibility in Global Regulatory Affairs at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development (now Janssen Pharmaceutica) across several therapeutic areas.                

This is a news announcement supporting the original article published by the Harvard Innovation Labs on April 18, 2022. To learn more about The Harvard Innovation Labs' mission, please visit: https://innovationlabs.harvard.edu/

In a new interview by the Harvard Innovation Labs, Dr. Katerina Chatzi discusses the history and mission of Promakhos Therapeutics.

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This is a news announcement supporting the original article published by Nasdaq on January 12, 2022 and curated by Ladderworks. To learn more about Ladderworks' and Nasdaq's mission to stimulate equitable entrepreneurship and to inspire children to become social entrepreneurs, visit: https://www.ladderworks.co/ and https://www.nasdaq.com/Purpose

In this new interview with interplanetary journalist Spiffy, reporting for Nasdaq and Ladderworks, Promakhos Therapeutics' Dr. Katerina Chatzi talks about the company’s commitment to make a difference in the world. Dr. Chatzi also provides additional insight into Promakhos Therapeutics' history.

Promakhos Therapeutics has closed its first round of financing after participating in the summer 2021 batch of Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley accelerator. The newly raised funds will be used to support preclinical drug development and to establish a pipeline for the discovery of new molecules for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. The round was backed by various angel investors and large biotech funds.

Promakhos Therapeutics is proud to announce that Dr. Joshua Korzenik and Dr. Jean-Frédéric Colombel have joined the company's scientific advisory board.

Dr. Korzenik is a visionary and specialist in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy that is well recognized for his compassion and dedication to his patients. He brings over 25 years of experience in clinical research that focuses on developing new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis. His insights in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have opened new avenues of research and possible therapies, and he was among the first investigators to research the intestinal microbiome for clues about the role it may play in the development of inflammatory bowel disease as well as in its management through nutrition and therapeutics. Dr. Korzenik is an author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and research papers and frequently speaks at professional meetings. He was named Humanitarian of the Year in 2013 by the New England Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and was awarded the Torch of Friendship in 1999 by the Mid-America Chapter in St. Louis. Moreover, he has sequentially been selected as a Top Doctor by Boston Magazine in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the Director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Director of the Resnek Family Center for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Colombel is a world-renowned specialist in gastroenterology and immunology and a leading authority in inflammatory bowel disease. He has been leading inflammatory bowel disease research for over 35 years and implements and leads major clinical trials. Dr. Colombel was previously the President of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization (ECCO) (2008–2010) and Chair of the International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD) (2010–2012). He has been awarded the United European Gastroenterology Federation (UEGF) Research Prize in 2009, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (CCF) Clinical Research Award in 2014 and the Sherman Prize in 2018. His research is perhaps most well-known for his contributions to the identification of major susceptibility genes for the development of Crohn's disease, the identification of a new subtype of Escherichia coli associated with Crohn's disease, as well as the development of the Anti-Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Antibody (ASCA) test. Dr. Colombel has authored over 980 peer-reviewed papers, is a current associate editor of Gastroenterology and has also been an associate editor of other major gastroenterology journals including Gut and Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Currently, Dr. Colombel serves as a Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Director of the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center and the Director of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Center.

Both Dr. Korzenik and Dr. Colombel are valuable additions to our team and we are pleased to be working with them.

Promakhos Therapeutics is thrilled to announce that the company has been selected to become an official resident of the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab.

Promakhos Therapeutics presented its vision to the 9-member Harvard Life Lab Selection Committee, which included leading experts in the life sciences, renowned faculty members of the Harvard ecosystem, the Dean of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Medical School Executive Director of Therapeutics Translation. After deliberation by the selection committee, Promakhos Therapeutics was then accepted as an official resident of the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab.

About the Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab
The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab is a fully equipped, shared wet laboratory space accompanied by a collaborative co-working office space for early-stage biotech and life science start-ups founded by Harvard students, alumni, faculty, and postdoctoral fellows. The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab is part of the Harvard Innovation Labs and is located at Harvard's Allston Campus in Massachusetts, near the Harvard Business School. As part of the Harvard Innovation Labs ecosystem, ventures at the Harvard Pagliuca Life Lab have continued access to the business-building and industry-specific programming and the mentors and advisors available at the Harvard Innovation Labs. 

The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab was made possible by the support and generosity of Judy and Stephen Pagliuca and is operated in partnership with LabCentral.

Find the external announcement here‍

Promakhos Therapeutics is excited to announce that it will join the Harvard Innovations Labs Launch Lab X GEO 2021-2022 cohort.

Launch Lab X GEO is a global ecosystem where Harvard alumni ventures come to connect with each other, deepen their relationships, and take their work to scale in unexpected and powerful ways. Rather than an accelerator format, the program focuses on leadership circles which provide coaching, community, and opportunities to learn from global thought-leaders from within the Harvard ecosystem and beyond. In addition, the program offers on-demand access to a curated network of mentors, industry insiders, and learning resources and provides foundational programming in the form of Founder Talks and Tactical Workshops to further inspire and support entrepreneurs.

Teams that complete the program will also be invited to an online Demo Day in May/June 2022, where teams are given the opportunity to present their company to a diverse audience of industry leaders, investors and alumni.

Promakhos Therapeutics is excited to announce that the company has received backing by the world-renowned startup accelerator Y Combinator.

As part of the Y Combinator program, Promakhos Therapeutics joins an impressive network of innovators, entrepreneurs and companies, including well-known companies such as Reddit, Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox, Ginkgo Bioworks and Benchling. Moreover, Promakhos Therapeutics will participate in the Y Combinator S21 acceleration program to continue its mission to develop new therapeutics for inflammatory disorders. The S21 acceleration program offers unique access to key resources and tailored mentoring over the summer and culminates into Demo Day, a virtual event at the end of August in which Y Combinator's latest batch of companies will present their vision to potential investors.

About Y Combinator
‍Y Combinator (YC) is an American seed money startup accelerator founded in 2005. It is located in the heart of Silicon Valley (Mountain View, California) and is considered as one of the most successful startup incubators in the Valley. The program has helped launch over 3,000 companies since its inception.‍ These companies currently hold a combined valuation of over $300B.

Promakhos Therapeutics is excited to announce that it has been selected to engage with AstraZeneca through their Exchange Mentoring program.

The AstraZeneca Exchange Mentoring program leverages AstraZeneca's scientific and commercial expertise in a business-to-business advisory model to encourage and support life sciences entrepreneurs and start-ups to innovate. It is based on the idea that innovation does not happen in isolation - if the sector grows, all companies, and most importantly, patients benefit.

Through the program, Promakhos Therapeutics will establish additional relationships with leading industry partners and will further refine its innovative ideas into long-term success.

About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational, science-led biopharmaceutical company. Its medicines are used by millions of patients across the world and includes medicines in disease areas involving oncology, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neuroscience, respiratory, and inflammation. AstraZeneca is perhaps best known for developing the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

This is an extract of the original article published by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio). To learn more about their MassCONNECT program and how MassBio supports early-stage startups, visit: https://www.massbio.org/innovation-services/.

Why did you choose to apply for MassCONNECT?

We applied for the MassCONNECT program because it offers direct access to a large network of industry experts in the world of life sciences. We are first-time entrepreneurs, and we were eager to explore the life sciences world outside of academia. As seasoned scientists with experience in performing translational research, we felt that we were poised to utilize the MassCONNECT program and the support available through its expert network to its fullest to translate our scientific ideas into a compelling business case. Moreover, as the business was just starting out, we felt that MassCONNECT would provide a great way for us to expand our network and connect with the local life sciences and biotech industry, in addition to providing guidance on the process of fundraising and securing laboratory space in Massachusetts.

How does your idea/technology/product improve patient outcomes?

Promakhos Therapeutics is developing new drugs for inflammatory disorders. Current therapies are immunosuppressive, do not work very well, often require injection and can cause significant side effects. Instead of immunosuppression, we focus on local and controlled modulation of specific elements of the immune system to restore homeostasis. We use our expertise in immunology, cell biology, bacteriology, and drug discovery to develop oral immunomodulatory small molecules with limited side effects.

What are the biggest challenges you face as an emerging startup? How did MassCONNECT seek to address those?

The biggest challenge as an emerging therapeutics startup is no doubt the continuous need to secure financing. As a therapeutics company, the high upfront costs of starting laboratory operations and obtaining the required equipment as well as the limited ways to generate revenue can be especially prohibitive. Managing and establishing a plan to tackle this challenge is an intimidating task and often requires an integrated approach incorporating unique facets of an individual company. MassCONNECT is specifically focused on life sciences and provided us with key insights on fundraising that helped us break down our unique goals and needs. The in-depth discussions with our MassCONNECT mentors then provided us with clarity to plan and ultimately develop a solid fundraising strategy. Furthermore, the program significantly expanded our network.

The second biggest challenge as an emerging therapeutics company is translating the scientific vision and expertise into a compelling and clear business case. With its large network of leading industry experts of diverse backgrounds, MassCONNECT is perfectly poised to help founders develop their story with real-life feedback. The intense nature of the meetings and the background of the mentors helped us to communicate our scientific vision. As a result, the mentors were able to provide tailored business advice and perspectives. At the end of the program, we significantly refined our investor pitch, business strategy and our ability to tell our story to a diverse audience.

How has the Massachusetts ecosystem supported your efforts as a startup? What separates Massachusetts from other leading life sciences clusters across the United States?

The Massachusetts ecosystem is excellent for starting a biotech. As founders of Promakhos Therapeutics, we are both from different European countries and have had the privilege to carry out biomedical science in many different places. The quality, amount, depth, concentration, and resourcefulness of the scientific industry in Massachusetts is unparalleled. We cannot imagine a better environment to start a life sciences company. The high density of highly qualified industry experts, life science companies and translational and highly innovative research and medical institutes provides an astonishing breeding ground for scientific innovation and collaboration. On top of these resources, Massachusetts also has a rich history of industrial development, innovation, and initiatives and has a rich tradition in supporting its businesses and entrepreneurs through its open-minded vision and its focus on scientific rigor and discipline.