VC-Backed TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Names New Leadership Team

TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it has made changes in its leadership team. J. Kevin Buchi has been named president and CEO while Pete A Meyers and Lesley Russell have taken over as CFO and COO respectively. Buchi will be replacing John M. Gill, who will continue to serve on TetraLogic’s board of directors. Based in Malvern, Penn., TetraLogic is a biopharmeceutical company. It is backed by Clarus Ventures, HealthCare Ventures, Quaker Partners, Novitas Capital, Nextech Invest Ltd, Hatteras Venture Partners, Pfizer Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners, the Vertical Group, Amgen Ventures and Kammerer Associates.

PRESS RELEASE

MALVERN, Pa., Aug. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule SMAC mimetic drugs to treat cancer, today announced the appointment of a new senior executive leadership team with the goal of accelerating the development of the company and its lead product candidate birinapant. The new TetraLogic senior executives are J. Kevin Buchi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pete A. Meyers, Chief Financial Officer, and Lesley Russell, MBChB, MRCP, Chief Operating Officer. John M. Gill, the departing President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of TetraLogic, will continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors.
“I am pleased to hand over the reins to Kevin who is a highly regarded leader within our industry,” stated Mr. Gill. “Together with Pete Meyers and Lesley Russell, this team represents the ideal complement to the existing team at TetraLogic, bringing the expertise and experience we need to maximize the value of our lead SMAC mimetic drug candidate birinapant, grow the company, and realize the full economic potential of our commercial opportunities for our shareholders.”
“I am honored to be chosen to lead TetraLogic at this very exciting time for the company,” stated Mr. Buchi. “With a strong team and clear leadership position in SMAC mimetics, we have a tremendous opportunity to continue the momentum established for birinapant as a potential treatment for both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Having spent most of my career in the biotech industry, I have a strong sense of the opportunities for success at TetraLogic and look forward to leading the company into what promises to be an exciting future.”
Mr. Buchi was most recently Corporate Vice President, Global Branded Products, at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Prior to joining Teva, he was Chief Executive Officer of Cephalon, Inc., which was acquired by Teva for $8 billion in October 2011. Mr. Buchi joined Cephalon in 1991 and held various positions, including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, before becoming Cephalon’s Chief Executive Officer in December 2010. He graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and received a Master of Management degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Buchi is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. Meyers was most recently Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Health Care Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2005 after serving six years with Credit Suisse First Boston LLC where he was a Managing Director in Health Care Investment Banking specializing in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. Prior to that, he worked at Dillon, Read & Co., specializing in health care mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Meyers earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Boston College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School.
Dr. Russell is a hematologist/oncologist with more than 20 years of international pharmaceutical industry experience and leadership in the therapeutic areas of hematology/oncology, neurology, psychiatry, pain and inflammation, respiratory medicine, cardiovascular medicine and stem cell therapy. Dr. Russell was most recently Senior Vice President and Global Head, Research and Development, Global Branded Products for Teva Pharmaceuticals USA. She was appointed to this role upon Teva’s acquisition of Cephalon, Inc., where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer from 2006 to 2011. She joined Cephalon in 2000 as Vice President, Worldwide Clinical Research. Prior to Cephalon, she served as Vice President, Clinical Research at US Bioscience Inc. and held positions of increasing responsibility within the company from 1996 to 1999. From 1995 to 1996, she was a clinical research physician at Eli Lilly U.K. and a medical director at Amgen U.K. from 1992 to 1995. Dr. Russell was trained in hematology/oncology at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and at Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh. She received an MBChB from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, United Kingdom and is registered with the General Medical Council, United Kingdom.
About Birinapant
Birinapant (formerly TL32711) is a small molecule peptidomimetic of SMAC (second mitochondrial-derived activator of caspases), an endogenous regulator of apoptotic cell death, that antagonizes the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs). Birinapant is in clinical development for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. In clinical studies to date, birinapant has been well-tolerated and exhibited suppression of IAPs and antitumor activity.
About TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals
TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery and development of second mitochondrial-derived activator of caspases (SMAC) mimetics, small molecule drugs that mimic SMAC for the treatment of cancers. The company’s institutional investors include Clarus Ventures, HealthCare Ventures, Quaker Partners, Novitas Capital, Nextech Invest Ltd, Hatteras Venture Partners, Pfizer Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners, the Vertical Group, Amgen Ventures, and Kammerer Associates. For additional information, please refer to the company’s Web site at www.tetralogicpharma.com.