i2O Therapeutics Announces the Appointment of Kurt C. Graves as Executive Chairman

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--i2O Therapeutics, a developer of novel peptide- and antibody-based oral biologic products based on a proprietary ionic liquid platform, today announced the appointment of Kurt C. Graves as Executive Chairman. Mr. Graves brings 30 years of business leadership experience in leading global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

“Kurt’s business acumen and expertise in setting vision, culture and growth strategies across early-, mid- and late-stage biopharma companies will be invaluable at this pivotal time of corporate growth at i2O Therapeutics,” said Ravi Srinivasan, PhD, CEO of i2O Therapeutics. “Kurt has successfully led the development, launch and build-out of multiple blockbuster brands and multibillion-dollar franchises, and his deep background in over 15 therapeutic areas, crafting major financings and partnerships and working with peptides and biologics, makes him the ideal selection to lead our Board.”

Over the last 10 years Mr. Graves has provided leadership to several innovative biotech companies as Chairman, President and CEO of Intarcia Therapeutics, former Chairman of Radius Health, and as a Board member at Achillion Pharmaceuticals until it was acquired by Alexion, and at Seres Health. He was also E&Y’s New England Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015. Previously, Mr. Graves served as EVP, Head of Corporate & Business Development, Head of Strategic Drug Development and Program Management & Commercial at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he was at Novartis Pharmaceuticals for nearly 10 years, most recently as the Global Head of the General Medicines Business and the first Global Chief Marketing Officer for the Pharmaceuticals division. Earlier in his career, at Merck and Astra-Merck, he led the GI Business Unit responsible for Prilosec®, Nexium® and Prilosec OTC®.

“i2O Therapeutics has developed a transformational new platform for enabling the full potential of oral biologics including peptides, antibodies and nucleic acids. The company is focused on creating novel oral biologics that are also tunable and well-differentiated therapies that can provide superior clinical efficacy and safety benefits to patients. Our vision and scope of potential therapeutic impact is very exciting and directly aligns with my passion to help develop novel platform technologies and therapeutics that meaningfully enhance lives and real-world outcomes,” said Mr. Graves. “I look forward to working with the management team and Board and forming key external partnerships to help scale our platform, strengthen the organization, and advance a new generation of tunable oral biologics starting with programs in serious immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and metabolic therapeutic areas.”

Mr. Graves received a B.S. in Biology from Hillsdale College and has attended educational and leadership development programs at Harvard University, University of Michigan, and the Wharton School of Management.

About i2O Therapeutics

i2O Therapeutics is the leader in exploiting the versatile properties of Ionic Liquids (ILs) for therapeutic development. i2O’s wholly owned pipeline consists of first-in-class and best-in-class transformative oral biologics with improved clinical benefits and a superior safety profile over current standard of care. With a focus on metabolic diseases, inflammatory diseases and other indications, i2O is delivering on the promise of oral biologics—considered the “holy grail biologic opportunity” by the pharmaceutical industry. Visit us at www.i2obio.com.

Lauren Arnold
MacDougall
larnold@macbiocom.com
781-235-3060