Shao-Lee Lin is stepping down as founding CEO of Acelyrin, a California drug developer that raised the largest biotech IPO in 2023 and subsequently ran into clinical hurdles with its lead immunology candidate.
Acelyrin disclosed the leadership shuffle on Thursday, and it also scratched its planned first-quarter earnings call. The biotech said it is “actively considering alternatives to further extend its cash runway.” As of March 31, it had $678.5 million in cash, equivalents and short-term marketable securities, which are slated to keep operations afloat into 2026.
Mina KimTaking Lin’s place is Mina Kim, Acelyrin’s chief legal and administrative officer, who previously was legal chief at Zymergen. Acelyrin said Kim helped Zymergen go public in 2021 and then oversaw the synthetic biology company’s $300 million sale to Ginkgo Bioworks in 2022.
“It is time for the next stage of evolution for the company,” Lin said in a news release.
Lin founded Acelyrin in 2020 after serving in therapeutic leadership roles at AbbVie and Horizon Therapeutics, where she was chief scientific officer. At the Los Angeles-based Acelyrin, she in-licensed treatments from other drug developers and quickly raised successive financing rounds before landing on the Nasdaq with an upsized IPO of $540 million in May of last year.
“Our business model is about identifying, acquiring and then accelerating the development and commercialization of things that we like to call ‘diamonds in the rough,'” Lin told Endpoints News at the time.
In an SEC filing, Acelyrin described Lin’s departure as a “mutual agreement.”
Bruce Cozadd, chair of Acelyrin and CEO of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement that the biotech is at “an inflection point.” The company’s share price $SLRN is down more than 70% since its debut.
Bruce Cozadd“The board and Shao-Lee believe now is the right time to make these changes as we focus on prioritizing our portfolio to enable future success,” Cozadd said. “Mina’s significant experience overseeing corporate strategy and corporate development, coupled with her knowledge of Acelyrin’s pipeline and operations, make her the right person to lead Acelyrin into its next chapter.”
Acelyrin declined to comment beyond the press release.
The departure occurs at a pivotal moment for Acelyrin. In September, the biotech’s IL-17 inhibitor, izokibep, failed to meet the primary goal in a Phase 2b/3 study in the chronic inflammatory condition known as hidradenitis suppurativa. Acelyrin then said that its contract research partner had notified EU regulators of trial execution errors in a separate study of izokibep. The CRO Fortrea “disputes the accuracy” of Acelyrin’s statements.
Izokibep is a small protein therapeutic that Acelyrin hopes will treat a range of conditions. It recently cleared a Phase 2b/3 trial in psoriatic arthritis. Acelyrin is also developing a thyroid eye disease treatment called lonigutamab, which improved symptoms in a Phase 1/2 study. At the time of the readout in March, Acelyrin said it would move the therapy into a Phase 2b/3 trial in the second half of this year.
Meanwhile, Acelyrin also promoted SVP Shephard Mpofu to chief medical officer. CFO Gil Labrucherie also tacked on the title of chief business officer. SVP Sanam Pangali was promoted to chief legal officer and head of people, and chief people officer Ron Oyston will step down Aug. 15.