Gelesis, a biotechnology company developing first-in-class mechanotherapeutics to treat obesity and other chronic diseases related to the gastrointestinal (GI) pathway, has appointed Dr Harry Leider, MBA, former Chief Medical Officer and Group VP of Walgreens, as Chief Medical Officer and Executive VP of Gelesis.
The company has also appointed Paul Fonteyne, Chairman and former CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim US, to the board of directors.
“Paul and Harry each bring extensive track records of successfully launching innovative products and services that have changed the practice of medicine,” said Yishai Zohar, CEO of Gelesis.
“I am honoured and excited to welcome Paul and Harry to our seasoned commercial team. Their commercial and clinical expertise, along with their strategic business perspectives from different sectors of the health care system, will be instrumental in advancing Gelesis on our path towards commercial success.”
Prior to joining Gelesis, Dr Leider served as Chief Medical Officer and Group VP at Walgreens since 2013, where he provided executive leadership for all clinical programme development, quality assessment, health outcomes research, health analytics and clinical reporting activities across the enterprise.
He also led a team that evaluated new healthcare technologies and services. His previous leadership positions include serving as Chief Medical Officer of Ameritox, XLHealth and HealthNet, in addition to serving as a physician executive at Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan for six years. Dr Leider is on the editorial boards of Physician Executive and the Journal of Population Health Management.
He is also a founding board member of the Disease Management Association of America (DMAA) and served on the board of the Institute of Aging at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Gelesis represents an entirely new category of medicine with a unique platform that has been designed to safely and effectively treat obesity and chronic gastrointestinal-related diseases. This provides us with an innovative approach to address significant global health issues that need fresh thinking to solve,” said Dr Harry Leider.
“The clinical efficacy and safety data supporting Gelesis100 are very compelling, especially its unprecedented safety profile, which opens up potential that has not existed in this category to date. I look forward to bringing this differentiated product candidate to patients, if approved,” he said.
In his new role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr Leider will be responsible for leading Gelesis’ overall medical strategy, including oversight of all medical affairs functions and programming with medical associations, patient advocacy groups, and other healthcare organisations.
Dr Leider will also play a key role in advancing the company’s innovative pipeline of product candidates. Dr Hassan Heshmati, Gelesis’ Founding CMO, will continue to oversee a range of clinical activities as Executive Vice President, Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Paul Fonteyne brings to the Gelesis Board of Directors a wealth of experience in commercial, marketing, and general management functions. During his time at Boehringer Ingelheim, Fonteyne has orchestrated a significant increase in the company’s topline sales and growth of its human pharmaceuticals portfolio. Most significantly, Fonteyne was instrumental in several launches from the company’s type 2 diabetes portfolio.
Fonteyne said: “Given the challenges associated with current treatments for obesity, I believe Gelesis’ innovative approach has the potential to disrupt and evolve the current treatment paradigms. I look forward to working with the Gelesis team as they grow into a leading biotechnology company with the goal of addressing high unmet medical needs.”
Fonteyne is Chairman of Boehringer Ingelheim USA. He also most recently served as President and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim USA and as a board member of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Industry Association until March 2018.
