A new CEO is now leading Davis-founded infant nutrition startup Infinant Health Inc.
Infinant Health, formerly known as Evolve BioSystems Inc., announced last week that it named Mike Johnson its new CEO.
"Joining such an innovative, mission-oriented biotechnology company as Chief Executive Officer is beyond exciting, and I cannot wait to work alongside Infinant Health's top-notch team to carry out our strategic vision for the future," Johnson said, in a statement. "I look forward to leading Infinant Health in its quest to harness the full power of the microbiome to influence human health."
Johnson has been on the startup’s board of directors for nearly two years. Before that, he was the global managing director at Cargill Animal Health Technologies, where he led a team of 500 developing new technology in animal nutrition.
"Mike's experience on Infinant Health's board of directors, coupled with his mission-oriented leadership style and decades-long career in health and technology, make him the ideal leader to carry out Infinant Health's strategic vision to change the trajectory of human health," Infinant board chair Brent Drever said, in a statement.
Infinant Health was spun out of the University of California Davis Foods for Health Institute in 2014 by a group of researchers studying the gut microbiome in infants and its role in the health of the baby’s developing immune system. Its flagship product Evivo, a probiotic nutritional supplement, has been on the market for six years. Between 2011 and 2021, it raised $135 million in funding, with investors that include Cargill Inc., the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.
Last fall, the company changed its name from Evolve BioSystems to Infinant Health, and opened it executive global headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. Its research institute remains in Davis.
