Anthos Therapeutics Appoints Will Kane as President and Chief Commercial Officer and Venkat Ramanan as Chief Financial Officer

Two Key Executive Hires for Organizational Capabilities and Growth


CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anthos Therapeutics, Inc. (“Anthos”), a transformative, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutic options for the treatment of cardiovascular metabolic diseases, founded by Blackstone Life Sciences (“BXLS”), is pleased to announce the appointment of Will Kane as its president and chief commercial officer and Venkat Ramanan as its chief financial officer.

Bill Meury, CEO of Anthos, said, “These executive appointments are a key part of our transition to a fully integrated organization comprised of leaders who have the skills and experience to grow the company. Both will play integral roles as Anthos advances abelacimab, an investigational, novel factor XI inhibitor for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation and cancer associated thrombosis, through phase 3 clinical development.”  

Will Kane brings extensive experience in strategy development, operations, and new product planning to Anthos. He has led businesses across a broad range of therapeutic areas, including the cardiometabolic space. As president and CCO he will drive the operational scale up of the company as well as the pre-commercialization work on abelacimab. Mr. Kane most recently served as chief commercial officer at Karuna Therapeutics. He has also held leadership roles at Pfizer and Allergan.

Venkat Ramanan joins Anthos with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the finance function. As CFO, he will lead financial operations, including treasury management, financial planning and analysis, budgeting, and accounting. Mr. Ramanan joins Anthos from Turnstone Biologics, where he led the company’s transition from a private to a public entity. Prior to that, he led the finance function at Seagen and served in finance and business leadership roles at Gilead Sciences and Amgen.

Mr. Meury added: "We are fortunate to welcome Will and Venkat to the Anthos team. Will’s operational and commercial leadership experience and Venkat’s financial expertise will be invaluable as we navigate this important stage of growth and advance abelacimab, a potential first and best in class medicine.”

Mr. Kane noted: “There is a pressing need for novel anticoagulants like abelacimab to better address the challenges faced by certain patients with atrial fibrillation and cancer associated thrombosis. Anthos is at a critical stage of growth, and it is a privilege to be part of building out an organization with a mission to deliver on the promise of abelacimab for patients around the world.”

Mr. Ramanan added: "I am honored to join Anthos at such an exciting time in the company's development. Abelacimab has the potential to not only reduce the risk of bleeding associated with the standard of care, but also to address other unmet needs related to the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation and cancer associated thrombosis. I look forward to working closely with our talented team to drive financial strategy and support our mission of bringing novel cardiovascular treatments to patients."

Nicholas Galakatos, chairman of the board and global head of Blackstone Life Sciences, commented, "Venkat's extensive financial skills and Will’s operational experience make them excellent fits for Anthos. We are thrilled to have them on board as we advance our pipeline and enter a new phase of growth centered around abelacimab, our novel factor XI inhibitor."

Abelacimab is an investigational agent and is not approved for any indication in any country.

About Anthos Therapeutics
Anthos Therapeutics was founded by Blackstone Life Sciences in 2019 and obtained from Novartis Pharma AG the exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize abelacimab. Anthos Therapeutics, Inc. is a transformative, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutic options for the treatment of cardiovascular metabolic diseases. For more information, visit the Company’s website and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the potential benefit of our product candidate and our goals to further develop and commercialize our product candidate. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release, including statements regarding the company’s strategy, future operations, future financial position, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “become,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the company’s views as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing the company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof. The company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the company’s views to change. However, while the company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

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