BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kaleido Biosciences, a clinical-stage healthcare company leading the development of novel chemistries that drive functions of the microbiome organ, today announced that Alison Lawton, Kaleido’s president and chief operating officer (COO), has been appointed to succeed Michael Bonney as chief executive officer. Joshua Brumm has been promoted to COO and will continue to serve as Kaleido’s chief financial officer. In addition, Mr. Bonney will maintain a leadership role at Kaleido as executive chairman of the Board of Directors.
“One of my top priorities when I joined Kaleido was to build an exceptional team with broad and deep experience to lead a rapidly advancing organization such as ours,” said Mr. Bonney. “In the three years since our inception, we have generated a library of more than 700 novel compounds, conducted seven human clinical studies with our Microbiome Metabolic Therapies, and raised $165 million, including our recent Series C financing. We are also well positioned to initiate Phase 2 clinical studies planned for 2019. With all that we have accomplished, I believe this is the ideal time for Alison to become CEO while I maintain my commitment to the company as executive chairman. Alison and Josh are both proven leaders who bring tremendous energy and expertise to Kaleido, and I look forward to continuing to work with them. They will be instrumental in ensuring Kaleido realizes the exciting potential of our revolutionary approach to leveraging the microbiome to treat disease and improve human health.”
Mr. Bonney will remain actively involved in the company, continuing to chair the Board of Directors and supporting Ms. Lawton and the leadership team, focusing on long-term business strategy, talent development and engaging with external stakeholders. Ms. Lawton has more than 30 years of experience in a range of executive and operating roles in the biopharmaceutical industry and has served as Kaleido’s president and COO since December 2017. In addition to her role as CEO, she has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to have someone with Alison’s experience and leadership skills as CEO of Kaleido and fortunate to have Josh taking on an expanded role with the company,” said Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and member of Kaleido’s Board of Directors and chief executive officer of Flagship Pioneering. “We look forward to our continued partnership with Mike and the expanded team during the next phase of growth for this pioneering company.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Kaleido at an important time in its evolution,” said Ms. Lawton. “We are advancing a robust pipeline in several disease areas, transforming product development and building an organization committed to fostering a strong culture. We have the potential to make an extraordinary impact on patients’ lives and offer solutions that address needs across the healthcare continuum. I am excited to continue to work with our strong leadership team and dedicated employees to enhance our science, technology and platform to lead a revolution in human health.”
Prior to joining Kaleido, Ms. Lawton was COO at Aura Biosciences, and she previously held the same role at OvaScience in 2013. She spent more than 20 years at Genzyme Corporation and Genzyme Sanofi. She served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sanofi (Genzyme) Biosurgery, where she was responsible for the surgical, cell therapy and regenerative medicine, and orthopedics franchises. Earlier, as SVP of Global Market Access for Genzyme, Ms. Lawton was involved in leading global functional organizations, including regulatory affairs and quality systems, public policy, health outcomes and strategic pricing, product safety and risk management. Additionally, Ms. Lawton worked for seven years in the U.K. at Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis. She previously served two terms as the industry representative on the Food & Drug Administration’s Cell & Gene Therapy Advisory Committee. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at ProQR Therapeutics and Verastem, Inc., and was previously a director on the boards of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, and Magenta Therapeutics.
Mr. Brumm joined Kaleido as its CFO in April 2018 and will continue to oversee finance in this capacity. In his new role as COO, he will also lead commercial, business development, investor relations, information technology, and facilities. Prior to joining Kaleido, Mr. Brumm was COO and CFO at Versartis, where he oversaw the company’s financial strategy, including the successful completion of a $145 million initial public offering, played an integral role in product strategy, and helped negotiate the company’s first product partnership. Prior to that, he was executive vice president of finance and principal financial officer at Pharmacyclics and CFO at ZELTIQ Aesthetics, where he also served in corporate development and sales roles. Over the course of his career, Mr. Brumm has raised more than $800 million in equity financings.
About Kaleido Biosciences
Kaleido™ is a clinical-stage healthcare company leading the discovery and development of novel chemistries that drive functions of the microbiome organ to treat disease and improve human health. The company is advancing a robust pipeline of Microbiome Metabolic Therapies™ (MMTs) across a range of therapeutic areas, including rare genetic disorders. Kaleido’s unique discovery and development model is redefining traditional R&D, enabling product candidates to advance rapidly into the clinic, dramatically reducing time and cost. Founded in 2015 by Flagship Pioneering, Kaleido has received approximately $165 million to date from its founder and a number of leading investors, including a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Fidelity Management and Research Company, Invus, and Rock Springs Capital. Learn more at https://kaleido.com/.
