Cidara Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company using its proprietary Cloudbreak platform to develop drug-Fc conjugate (DFC) immunotherapies, has named Jim Beitel, MBA, as its Chief Business Officer (CBO).
 
Preetam Shah, Ph.D., MBA, who has held the roles of both Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and CBO for Cidara since 2021, will continue as the CFO and principal accounting officer overseeing the finance, accounting, and investor relations functions.
 
“We welcome Jim to Cidara’s executive team during an important time of corporate transformation,” said Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., President and CEO of Cidara. “Jim’s extensive expertise in biopharma business development and partnerships will be extremely valuable given the expansive partnering opportunities created by our Cloudbreak pipeline starting with CD388, our universal influenza preventative, entering a Phase 2b trial this fall. I am confident that he will be a tremendous asset to the Company.”

Experience

Beitel has over 20 years of experience in life science corporate development including strategy, business development, commercialization, finance, and other roles for a variety of companies including biotech, commercial-stage specialty pharma, early-stage venture-backed companies, and multi-national pharmaceutical companies.
 
Most recently, Beitel was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Fate Therapeutics where his record includes strategic partnering in oncology and autoimmune diseases. During his career in business development, he has successfully sourced and executed partnering activities that significantly expanded company pipelines, generated over $4 billion in upfront payments and collaboration revenues, and contributed to the ability to raise over $1 billion in equity financings.
 
Beitel earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
 
“I’m pleased to join the company at this pivotal time,” said Beitel. “With its Cloudbreak platform and promising pipeline of novel DFCs, Cidara is poised to make significant strides in treating serious diseases such as influenza. I look forward to leveraging my decades of experience to enhance our business development efforts and build strategic partnerships that will help unlock the full potential of these groundbreaking treatment options.”

More Cidara News

Earlier this year, Cidara received an $11.14 million milestone payment from Mundipharma following the European approval of REZZAYO.