Kailera Therapeutics Appoints Scott M. Akamine as Chief Legal Officer

BOSTON and SAN DIEGO, Nov. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kailera Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing a broad pipeline of next-generation therapies for the treatment of obesity and related conditions, today announced the appointment of Scott M. Akamine as Chief Legal Officer. In this role, Mr. Akamine will be responsible for all legal aspects of Kailera, including corporate governance, intellectual property, compliance, and advising on strategic decisions.

“Scott’s extensive legal expertise and biopharma industry experience, guiding companies from both a strategic and legal perspective, is an important addition to Kailera’s leadership capabilities as we scale our operations and advance our clinical pipeline,” said Ron Renaud, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kailera. “As we continue to expand our executive team, we are excited to welcome Scott to support Kailera as a leader in the development of next-generation treatments for chronic weight management.”

“I’m thrilled to join Kailera at such a pivotal time in the company’s growth,” said Mr. Akamine. “I look forward to collaborating with the leadership team in support of Kailera’s mission to advance novel therapies for the treatment of obesity and related conditions.”

Scott joins Kailera from Cerevel Therapeutics where he served as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary until the company’s acquisition by AbbVie in 2024. Previously, Scott served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of AEON Biopharma, Inc., as well as roles of increasing responsibility at Allergan Inc. until the company was acquired by Actavis plc. Scott began his legal career as a corporate attorney at Latham & Watkins. He earned his B.A. from Chapman University and his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law.

About Kailera Therapeutics 
Kailera Therapeutics (Kailera) is developing a broad, advanced, and differentiated portfolio of clinical-stage injectable and oral therapies for the treatment of obesity and related conditions. Kailera’s most advanced program, KAI-9531 (being developed in China as HRS9531), is an injectable GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist that has demonstrated positive results in Phase 2 trials in obesity and type 2 diabetes in China. The Company is also advancing a diversified pipeline leveraging several mechanisms and routes of delivery, including oral administration. Kailera’s mission is to develop next-generation weight management therapies that give people the power to transform their lives and elevate their overall health. The Company is based in Waltham, MA and San Diego, CA. For more information, visit www.kailera.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X. 

Contact Information
Maura Gavaghan 
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations 
maura.gavaghan@kailera.com