Kleo Pharmaceuticals Appoints Douglas J. Manion M.D. as CEO

Kleo Pharmaceuticals announced the appointment of Douglas J. Manion, M.D. FRCP(C) as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dr. David Spiegel M.D., Ph.D., co-founder of Kleo, takes the role of President, Kleo Laboratories. Dr. Manion will also serve on the company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Manion has had senior leadership roles in advancing therapies for a wide range of therapeutic areas including oncology, infectious diseases, autoimmunity, cardiology, metabolic diseases, genetically-defined diseases and fibrosis. He has been involved with the initial approval or life-cycle expansion of over 20 major brands, 10 of which reached blockbuster status globally.

“Doug brings an incredible wealth of drug discovery and development expertise and experience to the Kleo team. Without a doubt, the addition of Doug will further accelerate Kleo’s place as a leader in the field of immunotherapy be it in cancer, infectious diseases or other areas of high unmet medical need,” said Declan Doogan, M.D., Chairman of the Board, Kleo Pharmaceuticals.

“We are delighted to welcome Doug to Kleo. It was clear from day one that Doug shared our passion for bringing innovative immunotherapy solutions to patients in need. His extensive experience and broad connections to the pharmaceutical and investor communities will be invaluable as Kleo Pharmaceuticals evolves into an industry leader,” said David Spiegel.

“I am thrilled to join Kleo Pharmaceuticals as it accelerates its quest to provide novel immunotherapies for patients with high unmet medical need. The science is so compelling. I look forward to partnering with the scientists at Kleo led by David Spiegel and the rest of the team, in advancing a truly innovative approach to enlist patients’ own immune systems to fight serious disease,” said Doug Manion.

Doug is a drug discovery and development leader with over 20 years of experience including Dupont Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline and, most recently, Bristol-Myers Squibb. He earned a B.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering prior to his Medical Degree both from the University of Ottawa, Canada. He completed training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases in Ottawa and a post-doctoral fellowship in bench and clinical research in HIV/AIDS at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. He is currently a non-executive Board Member for Celleron Therapeutics in Oxford, UK.