Alumis Appoints Jörn Drappa M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Roman G. Rubio, M.D., as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Translational Medicine

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alumis Inc., a precision immunology company that is reimagining the discovery, development and treatment of autoimmune disorders, today announced that Jörn Drappa, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as chief medical officer. Dr. Drappa brings more than 30 years of healthcare and pharmaceutical industry experience, having led the advancement of dozens of early to late-stage drug development programs for autoimmune disorders. In addition, Roman G. Rubio, M.D., has been appointed as senior vice president, clinical development and translational medicine, bringing a successful track record of overseeing numerous early and later-stage clinical development programs.

“As a board-certified internist and rheumatologist, Jörn brings a unique perspective to the drug development process, as well as deep experience leading the advancement and approval processes for a number of immunology-focused drugs,” said Martin Babler, chief executive officer of Alumis. “We are also pleased to welcome Roman, whose experience leading successful clinical programs comes at an important time in our development. As Alumis continues to advance our lead TYK2 program, in addition to moving our earlier stage programs forward, their perspectives are a welcome addition, and I look forward to partnering with them.”

Dr. Drappa most recently served as chief medical officer of Ventyx Biosciences. Prior to Ventyx, he co-founded Viela Bio, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of treatments for autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases and served as its head of R&D and chief medical officer through its acquisition by Horizon Therapeutics in 2021 for $3.1 billion. At Viela Bio, Dr. Drappa led the development of UPLIZNA® (inebilizumab-cdon) in multiple indications, culminating in its approval for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. Prior to Viela Bio, he held various roles of increasing responsibility leading clinical development programs at MedImmune/AstraZeneca, Genentech/Roche and Amgen. Dr. Drappa received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Cologne in Germany. He completed a residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital and a fellowship in rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

Dr. Rubio comes to Alumis from Revance, where he was senior vice president of clinical development overseeing Phase 1, 2 and pivotal Phase 3 programs in both dermatology and neurology. Prior to Revance, Dr. Rubio served more than 11 years at Genentech, Inc., ascending through several clinical and development management roles to global head of ophthalmology. While at Genentech, he held key leadership roles in the successful development and approval of several ophthalmic indications for Genentech's Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection). Dr. Rubio has an MBA in health care management and finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and received his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed an M.S. in health and medical sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and has a B.S. in biological sciences from the University of Notre Dame.

About Alumis

Alumis is a precision immunology company looking to eliminate the “all comer” approach that is seen with today’s treatments for people with autoimmune disease. Even with innovation of the last decade, many patients continue to cycle through the approved therapies while continuing to look for the right therapy to alleviate the impact of their disease without life-impacting side effects. Alumis leverages a precision analytics platform, powered by Foresite Labs, coupled with a team of experts with deep experience in precision medicine drug discovery, development and immunology, in order to create medicines that change the lives of people with autoimmune disease. For more information, please visit alumis.com.

Dan Budwick, 1AB
dan@1abmedia.com