EMERYVILLE, Calif., Dec. 15,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Totus Medicines, a company
revolutionizing small molecule drug discovery and development using
covalent libraries and AI tools, announced today that Nassim Usman, Ph.D., has been named President
& Chief Executive Officer and closed a $66M Series B financing led by DCVC Bio.
Neil Dhawan, Ph.D, Totus co-founder, founding CEO, and CSO,
will transition into a new role as CSO and Head of R&D, where
he will continue to oversee the company's platform, programs, and
data.
"We are thrilled by Nassim's arrival," said DCVC Bio Managing
Partner John Hamer. "He brings exceptional experience and acumen to
a company poised to bring much-needed therapies to market. I'm
equally excited by the fact that Neil – whose vision and
determination have brought Totus to where it is – will continue to
contribute at a senior level to the company's rapid growth."
"Nassim is exactly the right leader for Totus," said Dhawan.
"His extensive drug development background and vision for
the Totus platform will help lead us through the next phase of
growth for the company. His strong management experience will help
shape Totus as we continue to advance breakthrough therapeutics,
and just as importantly, Nassim embodies our culture and
values."
Before joining Totus Medicines, Dr. Usman served as President,
CEO and Board member at Catalyst Biosciences (NASDAQ:CBIO, now Gyre
Therapeutics, NASDAQ:GYRE). Dr. Usman has an extensive
background in C-Suite management (CSO, COO, CEO and Principal
Financial Officer), Board membership on and venture capital
investing (Morgenthaler Ventures) in several private and public
companies including Sirna Therapeutics (acquired by Merck) and
Principia Biopharma (acquired by Sanofi). Dr. Usman currently
serves on the Board of GYRE and the advisory boards of two private
biotechnology companies. During his career, he has advanced several
drugs into clinical development, executed multiple licensing deals,
and raised capital through private and public financings.
Dr. Usman received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry
from McGill University and completed a
post-doctoral fellowship at MIT.
"Neil and the entire team at Totus have built an extraordinary a
platform that has the potential to transform small molecule
discovery and have built a pipeline of clinical candidates led by
TOS-358, a covalent inhibitor of PI3Ka in the clinic," said
Dr. Usman. "I am delighted to join Neil, our investors and the team
as we build out the platform and advance our clinical development
pipeline."
The company closed the final tranche of a Series B financing
totaling $66 million, led by DCVC Bio
and including the participation of North Pond Ventures, Camford
Capital, and the Regents of the University of
Minnesota. Proceeds from the Series B financing will be used
to advance Totus' clinical program, expand the pipeline, and
evolve the platform.
About Totus Medicines
Totus Medicines is discovering
and developing small molecule medicines using a novel DNA-encoded
covalent library technology combined with artificial
intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML). With the unprecedented
ability to screen billions of drug candidates against thousands of
targets simultaneously, the company's novel platform can find drugs
that are dramatically superior to molecules discovered through
previous technologies, including drug candidates for
currently undruggable targets.
For more information, please visit totusmedicines.com and follow
Totus on LinkedIn and Twitter/X.
MEDIA CONTACT
totus@missionnorth.com
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SOURCE Totus Medicines