Former Seagen CEO Clay Siegall on Wednesday was named CEO of Morphimmune, a cancer-focused biotech headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Siegall resigned from Bothell-based Seagen Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) last May following an arrest on suspicion of domestic violence. Prosecutors confirmed in December Siegall won't face criminal charges from the arrest, which happened after police were called to his Woodway home.
“Clay is a highly passionate and effective leader with a demonstrated ability to build significant value for an emerging biotechnology company,” Isaac Barchas, Morphimmune’s board chair, said in a news release.
In response to a request for comment on the arrest, a Morphimmune spokesperson said in a statement, "After investigating the matter, prosecutors declined to charge Dr. Siegall."
Morphimmune was founded in 2020, according to its LinkedIn page. The company, which is preclinical, says its technology targets payloads to diseased cells, reducing toxicity and improving efficacy. Morphimmune was founded by Philip Low, a professor at Purdue University, and was spun out from the university.
Morphimmune says on its website seven companies have been founded based of Low's science, including Seattle-based Umoja Biopharma, where Siegall was board chairman from October 2021 to May 2022, after his arrest. Low also founded Endocyte, which sold to Novartis in 2018 for $2.1 billion.
Siegall co-founded Seagen, originally Seattle Genetics, in 1997. The company has four approved cancer treatments on the market, which are aimed at Hodgkin lymphoma and bladder, breast and cervical cancer. Seagen generated $2 billion in revenue last year. Earlier this month, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced plans to acquire Seagen for $43 billion. David Epstein, a former Novartis executive, took over the CEO role at Seagen in November.
“I am pleased to join Morphimmune as CEO,” Siegall said in the release. “Morphimmune’s targeted effector platform has the potential to deliver the next generation of oncology therapeutics."
