Alentis Appoints Mark Pruzanski as CEO

Alentis Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class therapies targeting claudin-1 for a range of fibrosis and oncology indications, announced the appointment of Mark Pruzanski, MD, as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer.

Mark Pruzanski, CEO of Alentis Therapeutics

“We are very pleased to welcome Mark to the company,” said Dr. Luca Santarelli, Chairman of the Board. “He has a proven track record in building and leading successful biotech companies, and I look forward to working with him as we continue to advance our clinical programs and expand our pipeline.”

“I am thrilled to be joining Alentis at this juncture, with key clinical data readouts expected next year for each of our three drug candidates,” said Dr. Pruzanski. “Claudin-1 overexpression was first identified as an important driver of fibrosis in chronic diseases of the liver, kidney and lung. Our lead antibody, lixudebart, selectively targets exposed claudin-1 and has demonstrated initial proof of concept in patients with advanced liver and kidney disease, positioning it as a potential pan-organ antifibrotic therapy. Claudin-1 is also highly expressed in a number of cancers, and we are enthusiastic about the potential of our two lead claudin-1 targeting ADCs currently in Phase 1/2 studies enrolling patients with various solid tumor types.”

Dr. Pruzanski is a physician entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in the life sciences industry. Most recently, he served as Chairman and CEO of Versanis Bio where he spearheaded the development of a novel approach to obesity therapy until the company’s acquisition by Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to joining Versanis, he founded and was the longstanding CEO of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, where he successfully steered the molecule obeticholic acid from discovery to a globally marketed product in chronic liver disease. Dr. Pruzanski is currently a member of the Board of Directors of several biotechnology companies and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).

“I want to thank Dr. Roberto Iacone for his vision and leadership, having served as Alentis’ CEO since 2020,” said Dr. Santarelli. “He has been instrumental in building the company from early discovery to a well-capitalized, clinical-stage company with a great team and robust pipeline.”

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