Unnatural Products Appoints Abbas Kazimi and Mert Aktar to Board of Directors
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Jan. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Unnatural Products, Inc. (UNP), a biotech developing orally-delivered macrocyclic peptides to address previously undruggable targets, announced today the appointment of Abbas Kazimi and Mert Aktar to its Board of Directors.
“We are honored to welcome Abbas and Mert to our Board of Directors,” said Cameron Pye, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of Unnatural Products. “Abbas has an exceptional history of advancing groundbreaking therapies and forging impactful partnerships, and Mert’s vast experience in leading biopharmaceutical companies through rapid growth and creating value across innovative therapeutic platforms will be instrumental as we advance our pipeline of macrocyclic therapeutics.”
Abbas Kazimi, currently Chief Business Officer at Nimbus Therapeutics, a privately held biotech company, has been instrumental in driving key corporate initiatives that have secured over $600 million in equity financing and over $7 billion in strategic transactions, including approximately $4.5 billion returned to Nimbus’ equity holders. In his role overlooking Nimbus’ business operations, Mr. Kazimi led the expansion of Nimbus’ computational drug discovery engine and forging strategic alliances with global pharmaceutical partners. Most recently, Mr. Kazimi led the $6 billion acquisition of Nimbus’ allosteric TYK2 inhibitor program and its subsidiary. He also managed the $1.2 billion sale of Nimbus’ clinical NASH program and subsidiary to Gilead, a collaboration with Eli Lilly for Nimbus’ AMPK program, and alliances with Celgene and Genentech in immunology and immuno-oncology. Prior to Nimbus, Mr. Kazimi spent a decade advising life sciences companies globally on strategic transactions with industry partners and financial investors. He holds an M.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mert Aktar is a seasoned life sciences executive with over 20 years of global experience bridging science and business in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. He currently serves as the CEO of Receptive Bio, a privately held biotech company, and holds Board positions with Kyverna Therapeutics (Nasdaq: KYTX), ReAlta Life Sciences and UCLA Technology Development Group. Prior to joining Receptive Bio, Mr. Aktar was the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Development & Strategy at Kite Pharma. In this position, Mr. Aktar played a key role in establishing Kite’s global leadership in cell therapy, architecting strategy and executing numerous deals, which strengthened Kite’s R&D portfolio and drove its global expansion. Previously, Mr. Aktar held senior leadership positions at various biotech and large pharma organizations, across diverse modalities and therapeutic areas. Most notably, he helped shape Shire’s transformation into a global rare disease leader, facilitating numerous multi-billion-dollar transactions as Global Head of Hematology and Immunology Business Development. Mr. Aktar holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, an M.S. in Engineering Management from Tufts University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
About Unnatural Products, Inc.
Unnatural Products, Inc. (UNP), a California biotech company, has developed a platform that addresses the complexities of medicinal chemistry in the macrocycle space through a combination of parallel experimentation and machine learning. Founded by macrocycle pioneers whose academic work uncovered how Nature’s macrocycles work, UNP is developing a portfolio of therapeutic macrocycles against high-value and traditionally difficult-to-drug targets. For more information, visit www.unnaturalproducts.com.
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