Art Krieg may personally invest in cancer immunotherapy maker Zola Therapeutics until securing an agreement.
Art Krieg, an experienced entrepreneur and industry expert, is currently working on a new drug startup. This comes two years after he sold his previous biotechnology company to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Zola Therapeutics is developing stronger cancer medications that Regeneron bought when it acquired Checkmate Pharmaceuticals in 2022.
Zola doesn't plan to pursue venture capital or an IPO, in contrast to the majority of businesses. Krieg said it will be funded by its team and generate revenue from early program sales.
For Krieg, a renowned genetic medicine scientist, the novel business plan represents a change of pace. Krieg co-founded and helped grow Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Translate Bio, and Checkmate until they became public companies. They also purchased Coley and Translate.
Krieg believed that after selling Checkmate, he would retire. Before Regeneron acquired it, the company's value had dropped by more than two-thirds, putting it at risk of bankruptcy. The sales price was below the IPO price.
Then, after a while, he had second thoughts. Krieg thought of methods to enhance his work at Checkmate. He created a medication called vidutolimid. It activates T cells to fight cancer by using a virus-like particle to pack a DNA sequence. Phase 2 testing is now underway at Regeneron. He later developed a new medicine that was placed in fatty shells called "lipid nanoparticles." These shells are used to deliver various other medicines. The new drug contained distinct genetic sequences, including RNA as well as DNA, he claimed.
