Dive Brief:
- Mark Leuchtenberger will take over as the next CEO of Israel-based Chiasma. He comes to the company with 25 years of biopharmaceutical experience, including as a CEO and stints at senior managing positions at numerous companies, including Biogen Idec.
- This is an important time for Chiasma as it prepare to launch its lead product for acromegaly—octreotide capsules.
- Chiasma is privately held and just completed a $70 million Series E financing round.
Dive Insight:
Chiasma has locations in Newton, MA and in Jerusalem, Israel. Currently, the focus is submitting an NDA to the FDA for approval of ocreotide, which has orphan drug status. The goal is to submit by the second quarter of this year.
Leuchtenberger comes with years of experience, including experience with a drug at late-stage development (Biogen's Avonex). During his time at Avonex, Leuchtenberger helped oversee and navigate the product registration process, as well as launching Avonex and driving marketing initiatives. Avonex is now a $3 billion drug. Experience matters—and Leuchtenberger has it.