Commense, an affiliate of PureTech Health, developing microbiome-derived immune modulators for paediatric and maternal health, announced the appointment of Edward Stewart as president and CEO.
Stewart will focus on advancing Commense’s lead programme towards the clinic, growing the company’s microbiome-based development capabilities and expanding its fundraising and business development efforts to fuel the growth of the company.
“The science around the microbiome and its interaction with the immune system has grown exponentially in recent years, but the opportunity to focus on the paediatric microbiome and its ability to impact disease is just beginning to mature,” Stewart said.
He continued: “Commense has a tremendous opportunity to cement a leadership position in the field and deliver products that have the potential to alter, or even prevent, the course of many diseases at a very early age.”
Stewart joins Commense with more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology field, including more than 15 years at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, where he was instrumental in growing the company from a pre-clinical organisation to a commercial enterprise.
Under his leadership as Senior VP of Business Development and Head of Merrimack’s Commercial Business Unit, the company executed multiple partnership and licensing deals with a total value in excess of $1.5 billion and successfully launched ONIVYDE, which was sold to Ipsen in a 2017 transaction valued at $1.025 billion.
“We are excited to have Stewart on board as we build and develop our arsenal of paediatric microbiome derived therapeutics,” said David Steinberg, Chief Innovation Officer at PureTech Health and cofounder at Commense.
