Seattle-based biotech Chinook Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: KDNY) has named former Eliem Therapeutics CEO Bob Azelby to its board of directors.
Chinook made the announcement on Thursday, less than two months after Azelby left Eliem, a Seattle-based biotech. Eliem was in the midst of slashing its headcount by about 55%, a process expected to finish in the first half of this year.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bob to Chinook’s board of directors as we advance our pipeline through key milestones in 2023 and beyond,” Eric Dobmeier, president and CEO of Chinook, said in a news release. “Bob brings significant industry experience in building and growing companies and commercially launching new therapies."
Azelby had been Eliem's CEO since October 2020, according to his LinkedIn page, before which he was president and CEO of Alder BioPharmaceuticals, which was acquired by H. Lundbeck for $2.3 billion in 2019. Before Alder, he was chief commercial officer at Juno Therapeutics, which sold to Celgene for $9 billion in 2018.
The layoffs at Eliem followed the company's pause in development of ETX-155, its drug candidate aimed at major depressive disorder and focal onset seizures, and shift in focus to ETX-123, which is aimed at epilepsy and pain.
Andrew Levin, Eliem's co-founder and board chairman, has assumed day-to-day leadership of the company while it looks for Azelby's replacement. The company was founded in 2018 and is focused on the central and peripheral nervous system.
Chinook, meanwhile, was founded in 2019, according to its LinkedIn page. The company is focused on kidney diseases. Chinook has a drug in phase 3 clinical trials that is aimed at immunoglobulin A nephropathy, which results in inflammation that damages kidney tissues, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The company has other drugs in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials.
“It is a privilege to join Chinook’s board as the organization advances towards delivering new treatment options for people living with rare kidney conditions, many of whom have been significantly underserved for decades,” Azelby said in a release. “I look forward to working alongside this dynamic team."
