The New Year wanderlust continues as Paul Streck, M.D., will this week exit his role as chief medical officer of Insmed to "pursue an employment opportunity on the West Coast."
That’s all she wrote in terms of details, but the SEC filing says: "Dr. Streck has advised the Company that he intends to work with the Company in an advisory capacity subsequent to his departure to assist in the transition of his responsibilities.
"The Company has commenced a search for Dr. Streck’s successor. Dr. Streck’s resignation does not reflect any disagreement with the Company."
Bridgewater, New Jersey-based Insmed is working on treatments for lung disease and rare disorders, and in the fall gained a speedy OK from the FDA for Arikayce (amikacin liposome inhalation suspension), approved for patient with mycobacterium avium complex lung disease and as part of a combo antibacterial drug therapy.
In October 2016, Insmed struck a deal with AstraZeneca, which saw the New Jersey biotech gain the rights to its respiratory candidate AZD7986, worth $30 million upfront and $120 million in biobucks. The drug, now known as INS1007, is in phase 2 development.
The company, with a market cap of $1.7 billion, was down 2.7% last night.
This comes amid a mini-exodus across biopharma over the past few weeks, with several big R&D moves out of AstraZeneca/Medimmune, as well as for Novartis and Roche.