Evelo Therapeutics Establishes Core Executive Team

Cambridge, Mass., January 11, 2016/PRNewswire/ - Evelo Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering the development of microbiome-based therapies for cancer, today announced that it has established its core executive team with the appointment of Mark Bodmer, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer and president of research and development; Kareem Reda as vice president and director of business development and strategy; and William DeVaul as vice president of intellectual property.

“We are delighted to have Mark, Kareem and Bill join Evelo as founding members of the leadership team,” said Simba Gil, Ph.D., Evelo’s chief executive officer. “The depth of their expertise across platform development, drug discovery, corporate development and intellectual property will be invaluable to us as we develop Oncobiotic™ therapies to improve the lives of cancer patients.”

Dr. Bodmer will lead Evelo’s efforts to develop transformative cancer therapeutics from its Oncobiotic™ platform. He joins Evelo from UCB where he was head of new medicines therapeutics and most recently led UCB's research in immunology and neurology. Prior to joining UCB, Bodmer served as senior vice president of immunoinflammation, medicines discovery and development at GlaxoSmithKline, working in immunoinflammation, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Mark previously served as chief executive officer at three biotech companies: Hexagen, Lorantis Ltd. and Biotica. He received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University.

Simba adds, “Mark has been a colleague and friend for 30 years and brings a wealth of experience in building innovative platforms and products to Evelo.”

Prior to joining Evelo, Reda was a director of business development at Celgene where he led a variety of licenses and collaborations, equity investments, and mergers and acquisitions. Kareem helped develop and lead Celgene’s immuno-oncology strategy that paved the way for Celgene investments in including CAR-T, checkpoint antibodies and innate immune approaches. Before this, he worked in the formulation group at Vertex where he focused on Kalydeco®, approved for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Kareem received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Brown University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

As vice president of intellectual property, DeVaul will be responsible for Evelo’s legal and intellectual property activities. He joins Evelo from Cubist Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Merck in 2015 for $9.5B. While at Cubist, Bill led the intellectual property team and managed corporate litigation. Bill was also the lead attorney on numerous deals, including licensing and collaborations, co-promotion agreements and acquisitions of private and public companies. Bill is a graduate of Boston University School of Law and holds a degree in biochemistry from Columbia University.

About Evelo Therapeutics

Evelo Therapeutics is dedicated to transforming cancer therapy through a deep understanding of the cancer microbiome. Evelo is discovering and developing Oncobiotic™ therapies, novel treatments designed to attack cancer by disrupting the microbial environment that supports tumors and protects them from the body’s immune system. Evelo’s platform disrupts the tumor microenvironment at the metabolic and stromal levels and provides next-generation, microbiome-based immunotherapeutics. Founded by Flagship VentureLabs® in 2014, Evelo is the first microbiome company focused on cancer. It is financed through a $35 million commitment from Flagship Ventures. For more information, please visit www.evelotx.com.