PureTech, a clinical-stage biotherapeutics group, has made a significant announcement regarding its leadership. Daphne Zohar, the founding chief executive, is set to step down to spearhead SeaPort Therapeutics, a PureTech subsidiary. This move comes following SeaPort’s successful completion of a Series A financing round, raising an impressive $100 million.
Zohar, who has been at the helm of PureTech since its inception in 2005, will lead SeaPort alongside Steven Paul, former CEO of Karuna Therapeutics—a PureTech spin-off recently acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb for $14 billion.
SeaPort was established by PureTech to advance specific neuropsychiatric programs, with PureTech retaining a significant ownership stake of 61.5% following the Series A funding. PureTech has diligently progressed SeaPort’s neuropsychiatric medicines programs internally, reaching a pivotal inflection point. This progress allows PureTech to leverage outside investors for later-stage development, enabling the company to allocate additional resources strategically across its business.
The success of this approach, part of PureTech’s ‘hub-and-spoke strategy’, is evident with $1.1 billion in gross proceeds generated from its stake in Karuna. PureTech continues to benefit from royalties and certain milestone payments from Karuna.
As part of the leadership transition, Zohar will formally step down from the board but will remain as a senior advisor. Bharratt Chowrira, a seasoned senior executive and biotech veteran at PureTech, will assume the role of CEO effective immediately. Additionally, Eric Elenko, a co-founder of PureTech and the current chief innovation officer, has been promoted to the position of president.
“I am excited to step into the CEO role and to lead PureTech through this next phase of its evolution,” remarked Chowrira. “We have demonstrated the evergreen success of our hub-and-spoke R&D model of venture creation, where we are able to recycle proceeds from our founded entities into both the funding of our current and future programs to change patients’ lives and capital returns for shareholders.”