Capsida names new CEO
Capsida Biotherapeutics, a venture-backed Thousand Oaks company developing gene therapy treatments, announced the hiring of a new CEO on Dec. 7.
In April, Capsida emerged from “stealth mode” and closed a $140 million series A funding round, one of the largest venture capital raises of the year in the region’s life sciences sector. Capsida is also one of the chief investments so far by Westlake Village BioPartners, which contributed $50 million of the series A funding.
Capsida’s new CEO is Peter Anastasiou, who was previously an executive vice president at Lundbeck, a Danish pharmaceutical company. He has also held management roles at Neuronetics, Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company and Eli Lilly.
Capsida’s previous CEO was Bob Cuddihy, who left an executive post at Amgen to join the startup in 2020.
Capsida also announced new titles for two of its founders, Nicholas Flytzanis and Nick Goeden. Flyntzias was promoted from vice president of research to chief scientific officer, and Goeden was promoted from vice president of technology to chief technology officer.
Capsida’s gene therapy technology is based on research from the lab of its third co-founder, Caltech professor Viviana Gradinaru, who is on the company’s board. In its Dec. 7 news release, Capsida said its gene therapy platform “allows more selective targeting of specific tissues and cells, overcoming many of the problems associated with first-generation gene therapies, specifically off-target cell and organ activity.” It also allows for gene therapy to be administered through non-invasive intravenous methods.
Capsida’s technology could be used in gene therapies for a number of diseases, including neurodegenerative ones. The $140 million series A round included a $90 million partnership with the pharmaceutical company AbbVie to help develop treatments using Capsida’s gene therapy platform.
