ACELYRIN, INC. Scales for Continued Late-Stage Growth with The Appointment of Dr. Shephard Mpofu as Senior Vice President of Development

Veteran drug developer and prior CMO from Novartis AG gene therapies brings decades of clinical experience including long tenure as Global Lead for secukinumab, which he advanced from early development through to approvals across multiple indications including Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Axial Spondyloarthritis and Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Strong complement to ACELYRIN’s current team and robust portfolio with multiple upcoming milestones that include Phase 2b/3 top-line data for izokibep in PsA and proof-of-concept for lonigutamab in thyroid eye disease, each expected before end of Q1 2024

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACELYRIN, INC. (Nasdaq: SLRN), a late-stage clinical biopharma company focused on accelerating the development and delivery of transformative medicines in immunology, today announced the appointment of Shephard (Shep) Mpofu, MD, MRCP, FRCP as Senior Vice President of Development. Dr. Mpofu will be responsible for leading clinical development as well as translational sciences and will also join the company’s Senior Leadership Team.

“I am delighted to welcome Shep to our leadership team as we continue to scale for the advancement of our robust clinical pipeline of multiple programs across several indications,” said Dr. Lin. “Shep is an internationally recognized immunologist and rheumatologist as well as an esteemed colleague. Importantly, his prior experience guiding secukinumab through all phases of clinical development to multiple global approvals will be immensely valuable as we advance our next generation IL-17A inhibitor, izokibep.”

Dr. Mpofu joins ACELYRIN after nearly 20 years at Novartis AG, where he most recently served as Chief Medical Officer for its Gene Therapy Franchise. Prior to this role, he held positions of increasing responsibility in the immunology, rheumatology, and dermatology franchise, which culminated with global leadership of clinical development for canakinumab and secukinumab. Dr Mpofu is a United Kingdom General Medical Council Board-certified rheumatologist, who previously practiced at several institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) prior to joining industry. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians UK, and he obtained his MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees) from the Godfrey Huggins School of Medicine at the University of Zimbabwe.

“I am very excited to join the rapidly growing team at ACELYRIN and strongly believe in the company’s potential to advance transformative medicines for patients,” said Dr. Mpofu. “I am incredibly proud of the difference secukinumab has made in the lives of countless patients, and I am even more excited for the potential of izokibep to deliver clinically meaningful and differentiated benefits to patients with Psoriatic Arthritis, Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Axial Spondyloarthritis, and many other immunologic diseases.” 

About Izokibep

Izokibep is a small protein therapeutic designed to inhibit IL-17A with high potency through tight binding affinity, the potential for robust tissue penetration due to its small molecular size, about one-tenth the size of a monoclonal antibody, and an albumin binding domain that extends half-life. Clinical trial data supports the hypothesis that these unique characteristics of izokibep may provide clinically meaningful and differentiated benefits for patients, including resolution of key manifestations of disease. Izokibep is being evaluated in multiple late-stage trials in moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and uveitis, with plans to initiate an additional Phase 3 program in axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA).

About ACELYRIN

ACELYRIN, INC. (Nasdaq: SLRN) is a Los Angeles area-based late-stage clinical biopharma company – with additional operations in the San Francisco Bay area – focused on providing patients life-changing new treatment options by identifying, acquiring, and accelerating the development and commercialization of transformative medicines.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements related to ACELYRIN’s ability to accelerate the development and delivery of transformative medicines; anticipated development activities including establishment of proof of concept and/or the availability of clinical data; the therapeutic potential of ACELYRIN’s product candidates including its ability to offer clinically meaningful, differentiated benefits for patients that may include resolution of key manifestations of disease; and other statements that are not historical fact. These forward-looking statements are based on ACELYRIN’s current plans, objectives and projections, and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause ACELYRIN’s actual results to materially differ from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those associated with the successful completion of development and regulatory activities with respect to ACELYRIN’s product candidates; maintaining and defending intellectual property protection; delays or failures to secure adequate supply of its product candidates; legal proceedings, government investigations or other actions; macroeconomic conditions; market volatility; and other risks and uncertainties affecting ACELYRIN including those described from time to time under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in ACELYRIN’s current and future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and ACELYRIN undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

ACELYRIN, INC.

Tyler Marciniak

Vice President of Investor Relations,

Communications and Corporate Operations