Zenas BioPharma Appoints Dr. Lisa von Moltke as Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer

Zenas BioPharma appoints Dr. Lisa von Moltke as CMO to advance autoimmune disease therapies, including obexelimab clinical trials.

Quiver AI Summary

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. has announced the appointment of Dr. Lisa von Moltke as their new Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer. With over 30 years of extensive experience in drug development, Dr. von Moltke has a strong background in various therapeutic areas, particularly autoimmune diseases. She has previously held significant positions in companies such as Seres Therapeutics, Alkermes, and Sanofi/Genzyme, showcasing her ability to lead clinical and regulatory efforts. The CEO of Zenas, Lonnie Moulder, expressed enthusiasm for Dr. von Moltke's leadership, particularly as the company progresses with clinical trials for their lead product, obexelimab, aimed at treating diseases like multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Dr. von Moltke emphasized her excitement to join Zenas during this pivotal time and to contribute to bringing innovative treatments to patients globally.

Potential Positives

• Dr. Lisa von Moltke's appointment as Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer is expected to strengthen Zenas BioPharma's leadership team with her extensive drug development experience spanning over 30 years.
• Her proven track record in clinical and regulatory success enhances the company's credibility as it advances its lead product candidate, obexelimab, through critical Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials.
• The release highlights Zenas's commitment to addressing significant unmet needs in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, which could improve patient outcomes and bolster the company's market position.
• Dr. von Moltke's belief in obexelimab's unique mechanism of action presents a compelling opportunity for Zenas to potentially capture a share in the autoimmune therapies market.

Potential Negatives

• The company acknowledges substantial and increasing financial losses, indicating potential instability and challenges in achieving long-term viability.
• Zenas BioPharma's limited operating history presents uncertainties regarding its ability to navigate clinical development and commercialization successfully.
• The press release highlights various risks tied to regulatory approval, competition, and dependence on key personnel, which could hinder the company's market position and operational effectiveness.

FAQ

Who is the new Chief Medical Officer at Zenas BioPharma?

Dr. Lisa von Moltke has been appointed as the new Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Zenas BioPharma.

What experience does Dr. von Moltke bring to Zenas?

Dr. von Moltke brings over 30 years of drug development experience, including expertise in autoimmune diseases and clinical trials.

What is Zenas BioPharma's main focus?

Zenas BioPharma focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for autoimmune diseases.

What role does obexelimab play in Zenas' development strategy?

Obexelimab is Zenas' lead product candidate aimed at treating various autoimmune diseases through unique B cell inhibition.

How can I learn more about Zenas BioPharma?

For more information, visit Zenas BioPharma's website at www.zenasbio.com or follow them on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.

$ZBIO Insider Trading Activity

$ZBIO insiders have traded $ZBIO stock on the open market 17 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 17 have been purchases and 0 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $ZBIO stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

• ONE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC SR has made 3 purchases buying 2,235,294 shares for an estimated $37,999,998 and 0 sales.
• SCIENCES GP, LLC ENAVATE purchased 882,353 shares for an estimated $15,000,001
• JASON RALEIGH NUNN has made 2 purchases buying 882,352 shares for an estimated $14,999,984 and 0 sales.
• PATRICK G ENRIGHT purchased 440,000 shares for an estimated $7,480,000
• FUNDS MANAGEMENT LLC FAIRMOUNT purchased 300,000 shares for an estimated $5,100,000
• LEON O JR MOULDER (Chief Executive Officer) has made 8 purchases buying 100,000 shares for an estimated $1,227,844 and 0 sales.
• TING XIAO purchased 10,000 shares for an estimated $77,600

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$ZBIO Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $ZBIO in the last several months. We have seen 3 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

• Citigroup issued a "Buy" rating on 10/08/2024
• Jefferies issued a "Buy" rating on 10/08/2024
• Guggenheim issued a "Buy" rating on 10/08/2024

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $ZBIO, check out Quiver Quantitative's $ZBIO forecast page.

Full Release

–Dr. von Moltke brings over 30 years of deep drug development experience and a proven track record of clinical and regulatory success at both large and emerging global biopharmaceutical companies–

WALTHAM, Mass., March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (“Zenas” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ZBIO), a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company committed to being a leader in the development and commercialization of therapies for autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of Lisa von Moltke, M.D., as its Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. von Moltke brings over 30 years of U.S. and international drug development experience spanning multiple therapeutic areas, including autoimmune diseases, early- and late-stage clinical development, and commercialization at both large and smaller emerging growth companies.

“I am delighted to welcome Lisa to the Zenas leadership team as we advance obexelimab through Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials in an effort to meaningfully impact the lives of patients with autoimmune diseases, including IgG4-related disease, multiple sclerosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus,” said Lonnie Moulder, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zenas. “Zenas will benefit from Lisa’s proven leadership and extensive drug development experience, including her successful track record of moving multiple products through development and global regulatory approvals.”

“It is an exciting time to join Zenas, as we approach multiple meaningful clinical trial results, and I am eager to help the company achieve its objectives and bring obexelimab to patients with autoimmune diseases throughout the world,” said Dr. von Moltke. “I believe obexelimab’s unique ability to inhibit the activity of B cells without depleting them, along with its demonstrated clinical activity and self-administered, subcutaneous injection regimen, represent a compelling profile and opportunity to potentially address the challenges that still exist in treating patients with chronic autoimmune diseases, including IgG4-related disease, multiple sclerosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.”

Dr. von Moltke most recently served as CMO at Seres Therapeutics with functional oversight of clinical development, sciences and operations, and regulatory and medical affairs. Prior to Seres, Dr. von Moltke served in roles of increasing responsibility at Alkermes, Inc., culminating as Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Development. Before joining Alkermes, Dr. von Moltke was Vice President, Clinical and Exploratory Pharmacology at Sanofi/Genzyme Corporation, where she also served as U.S. Head Clinical & Exploratory Pharmacology Sciences (CEP) and Early Development and later as Head of CEP for Japan and China. Earlier in her career, Dr. von Moltke was Head, Translational Medicine at Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. Dr. von Moltke was a practicing physician and completed a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Tufts University School of Medicine and had an academic career in pharmacology and developmental therapeutics that spanned fifteen years. She has also served as President of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology and as Editor-in-Chief of

The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology

. Dr. von Moltke earned a B.A. at Wellesley College and an M.D. from Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine, and she is a current member of the Board of Directors at Cara Therapeutics, Inc.

About Zenas BioPharma, Inc.



Zenas is a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of transformative therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases. Our core business strategy combines our experienced leadership team with a disciplined product candidate acquisition approach to identify, acquire and develop product candidates globally that we believe can provide superior clinical benefits to patients living with autoimmune diseases. Zenas’ lead product candidate, obexelimab, is a bifunctional monoclonal antibody designed to bind both CD19 and FcγRIIb, which are broadly present across B cell lineage, to inhibit the activity of cells that are implicated in many autoimmune diseases without depleting them. We believe that obexelimab’s unique mechanism of action and self-administered, subcutaneous injection regimen may broadly and effectively address the pathogenic role of B cell lineage in chronic autoimmune disease. For more information about Zenas BioPharma, please visit

www.zenasbio.com

and follow us on

LinkedIn

.

Forward looking statements



This press release contains “forward-looking statements” which involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Zenas’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions; advancing our clinical trials with obexelimab and the expected results from the phase 3 INDIGO trial, the MoonStone trial and the SunStone trial; and obexelimab’s potential benefits and opportunity to potentially address the challenges that still exist in treating patients with chronic autoimmune diseases, including IgG4-RD, MS and SLE. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the Company’s limited operating history, incurrence of substantial losses since the Company’s inception and anticipation of incurring substantial and increasing losses for the foreseeable future; the Company’s need for substantial additional financing to achieve the Company’s goals; the uncertainty of clinical development, which is lengthy and expensive, and characterized by uncertain outcomes, and risks related to additional costs or delays in completing, or failing to complete, the development and commercialization of the Company’s current product candidates or any future product candidates; delays or difficulties in the enrollment and dosing of patients in clinical trials; the impact of any significant adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by the Company’s product candidates; potential competition, including from large and specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, many of which already have approved therapies in the Company’s current indications; the Company’s ability to realize the benefits of the Company’s current or future collaborations or licensing arrangements and ability to successfully consummate future partnerships; the Company’s ability to obtain regulatory approval to commercialize any product candidate in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and the risk that any such approval may be for a more narrow indication than the Company seeks; the Company’s dependence on the services of the Company’s senior management and other clinical and scientific personnel, and the Company’s ability to retain these individuals or recruit additional management or clinical and scientific personnel; the Company’s ability to grow the Company’s organization, and manage the Company’s growth and expansion of the Company’s operations; risks related to the manufacturing of the Company’s product candidates, which is complex, and the risk that the Company’s third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties in production; the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain sufficient intellectual property protection for the Company’s product candidates or any future product candidates the Company may develop; the Company’s reliance on third parties to conduct the Company’s preclinical studies and clinical trials; the Company’s compliance with the Company’s obligations under the licenses granted to the Company by others, for the rights to develop and commercialize the Company’s product candidates; risks related to the operations of the Company’s suppliers, many of which are located outside of the United States, including the Company’s current sole contract manufacturing organization for drug substance and drug product, WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited, which is located in China; and other risks and uncertainties described in the section “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as other information we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release are inherently uncertain, speak only as of the date of this press release and may prove incorrect. These statements are based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this press release and while the Company believes such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that the Company has conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond the Company’s control, these forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as guarantees of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, the Company operates in an evolving environment. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and management cannot predict all risks and uncertainties. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

The Zenas BioPharma word mark, logo mark, and the “lightning bolt” design are trademarks of Zenas BioPharma, Inc. or its affiliated companies.

Investor Contact:



Matthew Osborne


Investor Relations and Corporate Communications



Matt.osborne@zenasbio.com

Media Contact:



Argot Partners



Zenas@argotpartners.com

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.