10 Super Useful Tips To Improve Leen Kawas

Athira Pharma is circling the wagons and advising shareholders to turn down require management change. This comes one week after investor Richard Kayne called for a management change in order to drive the development and commercialization of the company’s lead Alzheimer’s illness property, ATH-1017 (fosgonimeton). Mark Litton was tapped to serve as CEO of Athira last fall following the ouster of Leen Kawas after an investigation exposed that she modified images in her 2011 doctoral dissertation and in a minimum of 4 research papers that she co-authored while a college student at Washington State University. In the letter, Kayne said Litton is not fit for the task.

Co-founded with Richard Kayne, a prominent Los Angeles-based possession supervisor who was an early Athira investor, Propel Bio Partners likewise has support from a number of other Athira investors. Amongst them: John Fluke Jr., who stays on Athira’s board as the openly traded company pursues therapies for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Kawas co-founded Athira (originally M3 Biotechnology) in 2011. Named Startup CEO of the Year at the 2019 GeekWire Awards, she took Athira public in 2020, as the very first female to lead a company to an IPO in Washington state in more than 20 years. Shares of Athira fell by more than 50% in June 2021 after Kawas was at first placed on leave from Athira as questions emerged about her research at Washington State University. Athira stock continues to trade at half its prior peak.

Co-founder and managing basic partner of Propel Bio Partner, a life science investment firm concentrated on supporting the best skill and most innovative innovations. formerly Co-founder of Athira Pharma and co-inventor of its lead drug prospect ATH-1017. Innovator of several of the ingenious drug prospects in Athira’s pipeline. Led the technological and financial growth of Athira, raising around $400M and taking the company through it public offering.

The CEO of Athira, formerly referred to as M3 Biotechnology, is Leen Kawas, as soon as a PhD trainee at Washington State whose 2011 doctoral argumentation offered figures for this laden 2011 article in JPET, which made a correction in 2014. Earlier this year, as STAT reported, Kawas was required to take a leave of absence from the company over issues that she altered images in several documents. And there has been other examination of the company.

The board is fielding its own slate of candidates, which includes Joseph Edelman, the creator, CEO and portfolio supervisor of Perceptive Advisors; John M. Fluke, Jr., the head of the investment firm Fluke Capital Management; and Grant Pickering, CEO of Vaxcyte, Inc. “The company’s director candidates have the right abilities and experience needed to support Athira at this important time,” the board said. “Our highest top priority is advancing our lead drug candidate, fosgonimeton, through medical trials and protecting regulatory approval for the treatment of Alzheimer’s illness (AD), which impacts as numerous as 35 million individuals worldwide. Under the current leadership team, Athira is carrying out well and providing against our target turning points.

Leen Kawas, the Seattle biotech exec who resigned as CEO of Athira Pharma after an examination discovered she had actually modified doctoral research study images that helped to form the preliminary basis for the company, re-emerged Friday as co-founder and handling basic partner of a new investment firm called Propel Bio Partners LP.