CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vedanta Biosciences, a clinical-stage company that is developing a potential new category of oral therapies based on defined bacterial consortia, today announced the appointment of Simona Levi, Ph.D., J.D., as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. Dr. Levi brings over 25 years of United States and international legal experience with private and public companies across the life sciences industry focusing on complex transactions, intellectual property law and litigation, and corporate governance.
“Simona’s deep legal experience and proven track record in the life sciences industry will be critical as we execute on our vision to enable a new class of drugs in the microbiome field,” said Bernat Olle, Ph.D., co-Founder and chief executive officer of Vedanta Biosciences. “We are excited to welcome Simona to the Vedanta team and look forward to her contributions.”
Dr. Levi joins Vedanta from Cell Signaling Technology (CST), Inc., where she served as the general counsel and corporate secretary managing all legal matters including assisting with the formation of the company’s global subsidiaries and structuring all financial transactions. Dr. Levi spent more than 25 years working as legal counsel for corporate and intellectual property matters in the life sciences industry. Most notably, she was a partner at the law firm McDermott Will & Emery, served as director of neurology for Biogen, and was a senior IP counsel for IVAX Corporation.
Dr. Levi has a B.A. in biochemistry and economics, a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rutgers University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Dr. Levi has been a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association since 1995.
“With the recent activity and interest in the microbiome field, it has become clear that Vedanta has shown great promise in pioneering defined bacterial consortia as a new class of therapeutics,” said Dr. Levi. “Vedanta has assembled a talented and dedicated team and I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic company at this pivotal stage of its growth.”
About Vedanta Biosciences
Vedanta Biosciences is leading the development of a potential new category of oral therapies based on defined consortia of bacteria isolated from the human microbiome and grown from pure clonal cell banks. The company’s clinical-stage pipeline includes product candidates being evaluated for the treatment of high-risk C. difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases, advanced or metastatic cancers, and food allergy. These investigational therapies are grounded in pioneering research – published in leading journals including Science, Nature, and Cell – to identify beneficial bacteria that live symbiotically within the healthy human gut, fight pathogens and induce a range of potent immune responses. Vedanta Biosciences controls a foundational portfolio of more than 40 patents and has built what it believes to be the world’s biggest library of bacteria derived from the human microbiome. Proprietary capabilities include deep expertise in consortium design, vast datasets from human interventional studies and cGMP-compliant manufacturing of oral live biotherapeutic candidates containing pure, clonally derived bacterial consortia in powdered form. Vedanta Biosciences was founded by PureTech Health (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) and a global team of scientific co-founders who pioneered Vedanta’s modern understanding of the cross-talk between the microbiome and the immune system.