CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA and SUZHOU, JIANGSU, CHINA (November 16, 2021) – Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company pioneering transformational complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases, today announced the appointment of Teri Loxam as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Ms. Loxam will replace interim CFO Matt Gorman and will oversee finance along with several strategic and operational functions of the company.

“We are delighted to welcome Teri to the Kira executive team. As Kira continues to build momentum and advance through the clinic, Teri’s wealth of experience across finance, strategy, investor relations and communications will be invaluable” said Frederick Beddingfield, MD, PhD, CEO of Kira Pharmaceuticals. “We will benefit from her strong relationships across the life sciences and investment communities and her strength in operational execution and building teams as we continue to grow and bring much needed therapies to patients.”

Ms. Loxam joins Kira from SQZ Biotechnologies, where she served as CFO and was instrumental in raising more than $200M, including taking the company public, to advance the company’s novel cell therapy platforms. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Global Communications at Merck, Vice President of Investor Relations at IMAX supporting the company’s IPO on the Hong Kong exchange, and held senior strategic roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Ms. Loxam also currently serves on the board of Vaxcyte and as an advisor to Cardiol Therapeutics, both of which are publicly traded companies. Ms. Loxam holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of California Irvine Paul Merage School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Victoria.

“I’m honored to be joining Kira at this pivotal stage of growth for the company. With its lead clinical asset, P014, in the multiple ascending dose portion of its phase 1 trial and targeting to bring it to patients next year, along with a differentiated pipeline of additional assets, Kira has the potential to transform the complement space and advance important treatments to help people living with complement-mediated diseases,” said Ms. Loxam. “Further, the company’s global remit and US-China structure provide a unique opportunity to leverage talent and capabilities across the globe. I look forward to partnering with my new colleagues to help the company execute on its strategy and continue to progress its innovative science and programs to drive patient impact.”

About Kira Pharmaceuticals

Kira Pharmaceuticals is a global biotechnology company pioneering complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases. Enabled by its LOGIC drug discovery platform, the company is committed to advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to transform the lives of patients. With offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and facilites in both Suzhou and Shanghai, China, Kira Pharmaceuticals is committed to establishing a global footprint and advancing life-changing therapies to patients around the world. More information on Kira can be found at www.kirapharma.com as well as on LinkedIn.

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Media Contact

Pegah Mariani
Verge Scientific Communications
pmariani@vergescientific.com, 929.536.3645

Chinese Translation

CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA and SUZHOU, JIANGSU, CHINA (February 23, 2021)CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA and SUZHOU, JIANGSU, CHINA (February 23, 2021) – Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company pioneering a new generation of complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases, today announced the addition of three seasoned pharmaceutical leaders, Kathy He, Richard Lee, MD, and Dana Zhang, MD, to its expanding team. Ms. He joins Kira as Chief Business Officer; Dr. Lee joins as Chief Medical Officer; and Dr. Zhang as Chief Commercial Officer, China, strengthening the executive team at a key time of growth for the company.

“We are thrilled to welcome such a high caliber of individuals to our executive team. This is an exciting time for the company – with our first program now in the clinic and two additional complement-targeted therapies moving to clinical trials over the next 18 months,” said Frederick Beddingfield, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Kira Pharmaceuticals. “Kathy’s keen business acumen, wide-ranging business leadership, and global capital market experiences are invaluable to Kira in developing corporate strategy, optimizing the financing of the company, and establishing strategic partnerships. Richard brings extensive experience in the development of complement therapies, adding clinical and medical affairs expertise to the leadership team as we drive our lead clinical-stage asset, P014, and the rest of the pipeline forward. Dana brings her passion and extensive breadth and depth of leadership in developing and commercializing complement therapies in Asia and adds significant expertise to our growing team.”

Ms. He joins Kira after serving as CBO and Head of Corporate Development at Abbisko Therapeutics, where she led the company’s B and C financing rounds, raising over $100M from internationally renowned venture investors as well as sourcing and executing cross-border and domestic strategic partnerships. Prior to Abbisko, Ms. He served as a partner at several investment firms, was founder and CEO of Vivregen, and led commercial launches of several blockbuster drugs in the US at multi-national companies including Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Abbott.

“It’s a privilege to be joining Kira at such an exciting time for the company and the field of complement medicine,” said Ms. He. “Targeting the innate immune system is increasingly recognized as crucial for treating immune-mediated diseases. I’m looking forward to working with the leadership team to expand Kira’s pipeline of complement-targeting therapies and help chart a path to bring important new therapeutics to patients.”

Dr. Lee comes to the Kira team after serving as Head of Hematology at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a global company specializing in the development of complement therapies. Dr. Lee has also served in clinical and medical affairs leadership roles at several well-known pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Roche, Genentech, Millennium/Takeda, Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers-Squibb, leading global teams developing products ranging from large biologics to small molecules. Dr. Lee has been instrumental in the development and launch of a number of first-in-class medicines throughout his career.

“I’m very excited to draw on my wide-ranging biopharma experience to advance Kira’s clinical strategy and direction,” said Lee. “Growing with an early-stage company at the cutting edge of immune-mediated disease therapies with an innovative pipeline like Kira’s is a dream. I am inspired and proud to contribute to Kira’s mission to serve patients by developing best-in-class therapies for those who need them most.”

Dr. Zhang joins the Kira executive team with 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience, including 16 years of experience in the rare disease and orphan drug market. Most recently, Dr. Zhang served as General Manager of Greater China for Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where she led the successful approval of Soliris in China as well as approvals and commercialization in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In her role at Alexion, she guided all aspects of commercial operations strategy and P&L management in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Prior to her nine years at Alexion, Dr. Zhang was Head of Business Development for Celgene China, Country Manager for Actelion China, led the successful launch of Tracleer, and held consulting roles at Genzyme and Keller Pharma Consulting.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Kira team at such a pivotal moment for the company,” said Dr. Zhang. “I look forward to utilizing my diverse medical and business knowledge to bring Kira’s ground-breaking complement-targeting therapies to patients in dire need of therapies wherever they live, including in China and many other Asian countries where complement-specific therapies are simply unavailable.”

About Kira Pharmaceuticals

Kira Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company developing complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases. Enabled by its LOGIC drug discovery platform, the company is committed to advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to transform the lives of patients with complement-driven diseases. With offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an R&D center in Suzhou, China, Kira Pharmaceuticals is committed to establishing a global footprint and advancing life-changing therapies to patients around the world.

For more information, please visit www.kirapharma.com.

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Media Contact
Lissette Steele
Verge Scientific Communications
lsteele@vergescientific.com
202.930.4762

Chinese Translation

CAMBRIDGE, MA and SUZHOU, JIANGSU (February 2, 2021) – Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company pioneering a new generation of complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases, announced today that the first healthy volunteer has been successfully dosed in a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial for its lead investigational therapy P014. This randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of escalating single and multiple doses of P014. These data will guide dose selection as well as provide essential supportive information for the design of trials for patients living with complement-mediated diseases.

P014 is a bi-functional, first-in-class biologic with a unique mechanism of action. Designed to block two separate rate-limiting steps in the complement activation cascade critical for disease development, P014 provides a powerful and selective approach to inhibit the complement system. P014 has also been engineered to have an extended half-life and potency, with the opportunity for subcutaneous administration at home by the patient.

“Today marks a pivotal milestone for Kira Pharmaceuticals as we transition into a clinical stage company,” said Frederick Beddingfield, MD, PhD, CEO at Kira Pharmaceuticals. “The data generated from this Phase 1 study will provide important information about P014’s safety and tolerability profile as well as biomarkers and ex-vivo surrogate measurements of drug efficacy data that will inform our understanding of how the drug is impacting target biology. These data will be invaluable as we consider P014 for treatment of a range of complement-mediated diseases.”

Founded by some of the foremost experts in complement biology, Kira Pharmaceuticals has designed its LOGIC drug discovery platform (Lead identification, Optimization and attribute Generation, In vivo Confirmation) to overcome the inherent challenges of complement drug discovery. The complement system is a key driver and amplifier of inflammation and tissue damage in many human diseases but is complex and has been historically difficult to target. Kira’s LOGIC platform improves target selection and validation and the design and development of therapies with superior efficacy and longer lasting inhibition.

About Kira Pharmaceuticals

Kira Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company developing complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases. Enabled by its LOGIC drug discovery platform, the company is committed to advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to transform the lives of patients with complement-driven diseases. With offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an R&D center in Suzhou, China, Kira Pharmaceuticals is committed to establishing a global footprint and advancing life-changing therapies to patients around the world.

For more information, please visit www.kirapharma.com .

Chinese Translation

CAMBRIDGE, MA and SUZHOU, China (January 12, 2021) – Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company pioneering a new generation of complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases, today announced that Frederick Beddingfield, Chief Executive Officer of Kira Pharmaceuticals, will present at the Virtual 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 at 11:35 AM ET.

The presentation will be accessible via a live webcast at: https://jpmorgan.metameetings.net/events/healthcare21/sessions/35931-kira-pharmaceuticals/webcast?gpu_only=true&kiosk=true

Audio of the presentation will also be posted to the Kira Pharmaceuticals website (www.kirapharma.com) for up to 30 days following the meeting.

Last week, Kira announced the company completed a $53.5 million Series B+ financing to advance its LOGIC discovery platform and a pipeline of complement-targeted therapies. Kira also announced plans to file three investigational new drug applications over the next 18 months. The company’s most advanced program, P014, is a first-in-class biologic molecule with a unique mechanism of action designed to inhibit both upstream and downstream complement targets.

About Kira Pharmaceuticals

Kira Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company developing complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases. Enabled by its LOGIC drug discovery platform, the company is committed to advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to transform the lives of patients with complement-driven diseases. With offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an R&D center in Suzhou, China, Kira Pharmaceuticals is committed to establishing a global footprint and advancing life-changing therapies to patients around the world.

For more information, please visit www.kirapharma.com.

Chinese Translation

CAMBRIDGE, MA and SUZHOU, China (January 7, 2021) – Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company pioneering a new generation of complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases, today announced the first closing of an oversubscribed $53.5 million Series B+ financing. The financing was co-led by RA Capital Management and Vivo Capital, with participation from Foresite Capital and APlus Partners. Existing investors, including Quan Capital and Qiming Venture Partners USA, also participated in the first closing.

“While the complement system has historically been difficult to target given its complexity, we believe our LOGIC drug discovery platform enables us to approach complement mediation in new and different ways, unlocking transformative therapies for patients,” said Frederick Beddingfield, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Kira Pharmaceuticals. “We are honored to have the support of top-tier global investors as we continue to advance our lead asset P014, a bifunctional biologic entering the clinic soon, and a pipeline of important complement-targeted therapies for patients in need.”

With a therapeutic focus on inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and oncology, Kira has plans to advance three complement-targeted therapies to the clinic over the next 18 months. Kira’s most advanced program, P014, is a first-in-class biologic molecule with a unique mechanism of action designed to inhibit both upstream and downstream complement targets. By regulating two separate rate-limiting steps in the complement activation cascade critical for disease development, P014 provides a powerful and selective approach to complement inhibition. P014 has also been engineered with an extended half-life and potency, with the opportunity for self-administration at home.

“We are thrilled by the rapid progress Kira Pharmaceuticals has made with its lead program, P014, a therapeutic with a truly novel mechanism of action, that will be advancing into the clinic soon,” said Matthew Hammond, PhD, Principal at RA Capital Management. “With an intelligent drug discovery platform, a broad pipeline of therapies and a top-tier team, we believe Kira is on the leading edge of defining a new way to target complement and provide long-acting immune modulation.”

“We are excited to embark on this partnership with the Kira Pharma team and look forward to the advancement of breakthrough complement therapeutic P014 into the clinic,” said Dandan Dong, PhD., Managing Director at Vivo Capital. “With a world-class management team and a global infrastructure, we believe Kira is in a unique position to leverage its scientific expertise and resources to rapidly bring innovative therapies to patients suffering from complement mediated diseases.”

About Kira Pharmaceuticals

Kira Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company developing complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases. Enabled by its LOGIC drug discovery platform, the company is committed to advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to transform the lives of patients with complement-driven diseases. With offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an R&D center in Suzhou, China, Kira Pharmaceuticals is committed to establishing a global footprint and advancing life-changing therapies to patients around the world.

For more information, please visit www.kirapharma.com.

– $46M in Financing Secured from Leading Global Life Science Investors
– Frederick Beddingfield Appointed as CEO

Chinese Translation

CAMBRIDGE, MA and SUZHOU, China (November 12, 2020) – Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company pioneering a new generation of complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases, today announced $46M in investments secured to date and the appointment of Frederick Beddingfield, MD, PhD as Chief Executive Officer. Kira is backed by a syndicate of leading global life science venture firms including Quan Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Sinopharm Capital and plans to rapidly advance a pipeline of novel therapies designed to achieve better, longer lasting immune modulation.

“Kira has developed a scientifically innovative platform technology and a breakthrough approach to developing transformative therapies for patients with complement-mediated diseases,” said Peter Wirth, senior advisor and board member of Kira Pharmaceuticals and Venture Partner at the lead investor Quan Capital. “We are pleased to welcome Frederick at a critical time for the organization. His experience and expertise in building and guiding research organizations will be invaluable as Kira prepares to advance a robust pipeline of complement targeted therapies to the clinic.”

“Kira’s founding team has developed an intelligent drug discovery platform driving the development of novel compounds with the ability to overcome the challenges of complement drug discovery and modulate the complement system in new and thoughtful ways,” said Dr. Beddingfield, CEO, Kira Pharmaceuticals. “I am honored and excited to join Kira on its mission to advance several first-in-class therapies for the benefit of patients in desperate need of treatment options.”

With a therapeutic focus on inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and oncology, Kira has plans to advance three complement-targeted therapies to the clinic over the next 18 months. Kira’s most advanced program, P014, is a first-in-class biologic drug with a unique mechanism of action designed to inhibit both upstream and downstream complement targets. By regulating two separate rate-limiting steps in the complement activation cascade that are critical for disease development, P014 provides a powerful, and potentially safer approach to complement inhibition. P014 has also been engineered with an extended half-life and potency, with the opportunity for self-administration at home.

Founded by some of the foremost experts in complement biology, Kira Pharmaceuticals has designed its LOGIC drug discovery platform (Lead identification, Optimization and attribute Generation, In vivo Confirmation) to overcome the challenges of complement drug discovery. The complement system is a key driver and amplifier of inflammation and tissue damage in many human diseases but is complex and historically difficult to target.

“This drug discovery platform is based on technology and animal models licensed from the University of Pennsylvania and I am very pleased to see this effort to translate our research findings into medicine for patients in need,” said Wenchao Song, PhD, scientific co-founder and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Kira Pharmaceuticals. Song is also a professor of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics in the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Beddingfield joins Kira with nearly 20 years of biopharma experience. Beddingfield will lead Kira as the company moves quickly to expand the impact of its LOGIC platform while advancing a portfolio of complement-targeted therapies into the clinic. Most recently, Dr. Beddingfield was founder and CEO of Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, a company developing topical and systemic therapies for inflammatory and immune-mediated skin diseases. Prior to Sienna, he served as Chief Medical Officer at both Kythera and Allergan Medical. Dr. Beddingfield is board certified in Dermatology, Mohs Micrographic Surgery, Cutaneous Oncology and Emergency Medicine. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor at UCLA. Dr. Beddingfield received his MD from the University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill and PhD from Pardee RAND Graduate School.

About Kira Pharmaceuticals

Kira Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company developing complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated diseases. Enabled by its LOGIC drug discovery platform, the company is committed to advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to transform the lives of patients with complement-driven diseases. With offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an R&D center in Suzhou, China, Kira Pharmaceuticals is committed to establishing a global footprint and advancing life-changing therapies to patients around the world.

For more information, please visit www.kirapharma.com .

Editor’s Note

Dr. Wenchao Song owns equity, receives consultant fee and research grant from, and is an inventor of patents license to Kira Pharmaceuticals and may benefit financially from the successful development and commercialization of products by the company.