Alumis Strengthens Leadership Team with Key Appointments

Rhea-AI Summary

Alumis (Nasdaq: ALMS) has strengthened its leadership team with key appointments to support its transition to a late-stage company. Jack Danilkowicz has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer, bringing extensive experience in commercial strategies from Amgen and Horizon Therapeutics, where he helped grow annual net product sales from $300 million to nearly $4 billion.

Sara Klein has been promoted to Chief Legal Officer, continuing to direct corporate legal and compliance matters. Roy Hardiman, the previous legal officer, will now serve as Chief Business and Strategy Officer. These appointments come as Alumis advances its next-generation TYK2 inhibitor ESK-001 through Phase 3 ONWARD clinical program in plaque psoriasis and a potential pivotal Phase 2b trial in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Positive

• Strategic appointment of experienced CCO with track record of growing revenue from $300M to $4B at previous company
• Advancement of TYK2 inhibitor ESK-001 to Phase 3 trials indicates pipeline progress
• Internal promotion and restructuring shows organizational development

Negative

• Company still in clinical stage with no commercial products
• Significant investment needed for Phase 3 trials and commercial preparation

• Jack Danilkowicz appointed as Chief Commercial Officer; bringing extensive experience successfully planning and executing commercial strategies at global biopharmaceutical companies 
• Sara Klein promoted to Chief Legal Officer; leveraging deep expertise advising biopharmaceutical companies on legal matters across all stages of development and growth

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alumis Inc. (Nasdaq: ALMS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies using a precision approach to optimize clinical outcomes and significantly improve the lives of patients with immune-mediated diseases, today announced that it has strengthened its leadership team with key appointments to support its transition to a late-stage company.

Alumis has appointed Jack Danilkowicz to a newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Danilkowicz brings deep expertise and a proven track record in successfully driving commercial strategies for novel medicines and accelerating growth for companies as they transition to the commercial stage. As Chief Commercial Officer and a member of the Alumis leadership team, Mr. Danilkowicz will oversee the Company’s global commercial strategy and operations for its late-stage TYK2 inhibitor pipeline.

Additionally, the Company has promoted Sara Klein to Chief Legal Officer. In this role, Ms. Klein will continue to direct all corporate legal and compliance matters, including corporate governance, intellectual property, and advising on strategic decisions and transactions. To support the continued growth of the Company and its portfolio, Roy Hardiman, who previously held this position will focus his efforts on Business Development and Strategy and will now hold the title of Chief Business and Strategy Officer.

“These leadership appointments strengthen the talented team we have and underscore our transition to a late-stage company. I am excited to welcome Jack to Alumis as we advance our next-generation TYK2 inhibitor ESK-001 through the Phase 3 ONWARD clinical program in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and a potential pivotal Phase 2b clinical trial in systemic lupus erythematosus, and continue to build our commercial operations capabilities,” said Martin Babler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alumis. “Jack is an execution-focused commercial leader who has led teams to successfully launch novel medicines and drive market growth across several therapeutic areas – his contributions will be invaluable to the team as we prepare for commercialization.”

Babler added, “Importantly, Sara’s promotion to Chief Legal Officer reflects her long track record of advising biopharma companies on corporate and legal matters, as well as the vital contributions she has made as a true executive partner at Alumis as we have advanced our pipeline and become a publicly traded company. We are grateful for her continued leadership, legal expertise and strategic insights.”

“Alumis’ mission to transform the lives of patients living with immune-mediated diseases is aligned with my strong passion to develop and commercialize medicines in areas of high unmet need,” said Mr. Danilkowicz. “The Company’s precision approach to immunology has delivered a pipeline of differentiated TYK2 inhibitors with the potential to provide oral therapy with substantial improvement in clinical outcomes over current therapies. I look forward to working with the team toward the goal of delivering new treatment options that can make a significant impact for patients.”

Mr. Danilkowicz joins Alumis from Amgen after serving as Senior Vice President, Commercial Strategy and General Manager, Ophthalmology, where he was responsible for driving the commercial strategy for Amgen’s rare disease portfolio and leading the sales and marketing efforts for its ophthalmology business. Prior to Amgen’s 2023 acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, Mr. Danilkowicz spent over a decade at Horizon, where he held several leadership roles in business development, strategy and sales & marketing. He played a pivotal role in the company’s transformation into a leader in rare disease therapies, including overseeing the successful launch of the blockbuster medicine TEPEZZA^®. During his tenure, Horizon's annual net product sales increased from approximately $300 million to nearly $4 billion. Mr. Danilkowicz holds a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a Master of Education and Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Ms. Klein joined Alumis in January of 2022 as General Counsel. Before joining Alumis, she was Head of Legal at Principia Biopharma following that company’s acquisition by Sanofi, and Senior Vice President, Legal prior to the acquisition. At Principia Biopharma, Ms. Klein had general responsibility for the company’s legal, IP and compliance functions, and co-chaired the Operating Committee. Prior to joining Principia Biopharma, she was in the private practice of law representing life science and technology companies. Ms. Klein started her career at the law firm of Baker & McKenzie, then was an in-house corporate lawyer at Genentech. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and a J.D. from UC Law SF (formerly UC Hastings).

About Alumis
Alumis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies using a precision approach to optimize clinical outcomes and significantly improve the lives of patients with immune-mediated diseases. Leveraging its proprietary precision data analytics platform, Alumis is building a pipeline of molecules with the potential to address a broad range of immune-mediated diseases as monotherapy or combination therapies. Alumis’ most advanced product candidate, ESK-001, is an oral, highly selective, small molecule, allosteric inhibitor of tyrosine kinase 2 that is currently being evaluated for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Alumis is also developing A-005, a CNS-penetrant, allosteric TYK2 inhibitor for the treatment of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Beyond TYK2, Alumis’ proprietary precision data analytics platform and drug discovery expertise have led to the identification of additional preclinical programs that exemplify its precision approach. Incubated by Foresite Labs and led by a team of industry veterans experienced in small-molecule compound drug development for immune-mediated diseases, Alumis is pioneering a precision approach to drug development to potentially produce the next generation of treatment to address immune dysfunction.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as "aims," "anticipates," "believes," "could," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "goal," "intends," "may," "plans," "possible," "potential," "seeks," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any such statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding Alumis’ future plans and prospects including development and commercialization of its pipeline, the potential for ESK-001 to be a best-in-class oral treatment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, any expectations regarding the safety, efficacy or tolerability of ESK-001 or A-005 the potential of ESK-001 to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and systemic lupus erythematosus, and the potential of A-005 to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on Alumis’ current expectations, estimates and projections only as of the date of this release 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. Readers are cautioned that actual results, levels of activity, safety, efficacy, performance or events and circumstances could differ materially from those expressed or implied in Alumis’ forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to Alumis’ ability to advance ESK-001 and A-005 and to obtain regulatory approval of and ultimately commercialize Alumis’ clinical candidates, the timing and results of preclinical and clinical trials, Alumis’ ability to fund development activities and achieve development goals, Alumis’ ability to protect its intellectual property and other risks and uncertainties described in Alumis’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including any future reports Alumis may file with the SEC from time to time. Alumis explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the extent required by law.

FAQ

What is the current status of Alumis (ALMS) TYK2 inhibitor ESK-001 clinical trials?

ESK-001 is currently in Phase 3 ONWARD clinical program for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and is preparing for a potential pivotal Phase 2b clinical trial in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Who is the new Chief Commercial Officer at Alumis (ALMS) and what is his background?

Jack Danilkowicz is the new CCO, joining from Amgen where he was SVP of Commercial Strategy. At Horizon Therapeutics, he helped grow annual net product sales from $300M to $4B and led the successful launch of TEPEZZA.

What management changes did Alumis (ALMS) announce in January 2025?

Alumis announced Jack Danilkowicz as new Chief Commercial Officer, promoted Sara Klein to Chief Legal Officer, and shifted Roy Hardiman to Chief Business and Strategy Officer.

What therapeutic areas is Alumis (ALMS) targeting with its pipeline?

Alumis is developing treatments for immune-mediated diseases, specifically moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and systemic lupus erythematosus.