PureTech Health has pieced together a wholly owned pipeline in recent years, picking up a prospect from Teva while taking ownership of Ariya Therapeutics and Alivio Therapeutics. With the expansion ratcheting up PureTech’s need for clinical trial expertise, the biotech has lured Julie Krop, M.D., away from Freeline Therapeutics.
Krop will slot into the chief medical officer role at PureTech, giving her oversight of all the biotech’s clinical development, regulatory, CMC and medical affairs activities for its wholly owned pipeline. The focal point of the pipeline is LYT-100, a twist on Roche’s lung disease treatment Esbriet, which is in a clutch of midphase studies in indications including long COVID.
PureTech identified Krop as the person to drive forward development of LYT-100 and other programs on the strength of a résumé featuring stints helming clinical work at a bunch of biotechs. Krop joined Freeline in April 2020 to oversee clinical studies of gene therapies against hemophilia B and Fabry, a rare disease characterized by the buildup of fat in cells. The Freeline posting followed almost five years at AMAG Pharmaceuticals.
Earlier in her career, Krop spent stints at companies including Vertex—where she was vice president of clinical development—Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer. Krop, who has overseen development of eight therapeutics that advanced through phase 3, will now apply the experience gained across that series of postings to PureTech’s pipeline.
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Lead drug LYT-100 is in the clinic in lung scarring disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, long COVID and disorders defined by swelling because of the buildup of lymph fluid in the body. Another asset, LYT-200, is in phase 1 development as a treatment for solid tumors including colorectal cancer, and a set of preclinical prospects are working their way toward studies in humans.
The pipeline is set to deliver a string of data drops in the coming months. Data on LYT-100 in long COVID and breast cancer–related lymphoedema are on the horizon, as is an early look at the effects of LYT-200 in solid tumor patients.
With Krop departing for PureTech, Freeline has tasked Alison Long, M.D., Ph.D., its head of clinical development, with filling her shoes on an interim basis while it searches for a permanent successor.