Dr. David Horn Solomon has been apointed chief executive officer (CEO), Akari Therapeutics.

“I am very pleased that David will be joining Akari and that we have been successful in attracting a person of his calibre, with over 20 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology industry,” said Ray Prudo, M.D., Executive Chairman of Akari. “David has a strong track record of leading Phase 2-stage companies like Akari. most notably, at Zealand Pharma where he led the development of lixisenatide, which is now commercialized by Sanofi.”

Akari is focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for a range of rare and orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases caused by the dysregulation of complement C5 and/or leukotriene B4 (LTB4).

“I am excited by Akari’s growing and diversified discovery platform and its clinical programs in the complement mediated diseases, PNH (paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria) and aHUS (atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome),” said Dr. Solomon. “I believe Akari’s lead compound, Coversin, with its dual binding sites also has potential in a wide range of other diseases where both the complement and leukotriene pathways are implicated including atopic keratoconjunctivitis in the eye and bullous pemphigoid in the skin.”

“Akari is building momentum in its research programs and this is a hugely exciting time to join and help advance its products,” added Solomon who will be based at Akari’s corporate headquarters in New York City.