Telum Therapeutics appoints Dr. Subhendu Basu as CEO

Dr. Basu brings over 20 years of deep technical and management expertise across academia and biotech.
Dr. Basu joins the company to lead it into its next development phase, where he will focus on defining strategy, expanding the pipeline and driving corporate development.

PAMPLONA, Spain and BARCELONA, Spain, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Telum Therapeutics (‘Telum’), a pioneering biotechnology company specializing in the innovation of engineered phage endolysins as novel antibacterial agents to combat multidrug-resistant infections, is announcing the appointment of Subhendu Basu, PhD, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Basu comes to Telum with an impressive tenure of over two decades in bio pharma leadership, with a focus in immunology and infectious diseases where he has gained deep expertise in organizational growth, product innovation and raising capital. Most recently, Dr. Basu’s distinguished career is highlighted by his tenure as President and Chief Operating Officer at Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT), a frontrunner in developing phage-based therapies. His strategic vision was instrumental in APT’s expansion, fundraising efforts, and product development milestones that culminated in a merger with BiomX (NYSE: PHGE). Prior to APT, Dr. Basu served as Head of Scientific Affairs for another NYSE-listed entity, leading technical assessments for M&A that enriched the company’s portfolio with 10 marketed products and numerous pipeline assets. His extensive background spans research in academia and industry within infectious diseases, cellular and innate immunity, inflammation, and autoimmunity. Dr. Basu’s academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science with Honors from the University of Mumbai, a MS in Microbiology and Immunology, and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Maryland, School of Medicine.

“I am truly inspired by Telum’s cutting-edge science, its dynamic pipeline, and the team’s accomplishments thus far,” remarked Dr. Basu. “As CEO, I am eager to collaborate with the Telum scientific team and our dedicated investors to spur growth and advance Telum’s investigational products into clinical trials for patient benefit.”

In conjunction with Dr. Basu’s joining, Roberto Díez-Martínez, PhD, the founding CEO, transitions to Chief Operating Officer. Under Dr. Díez-Martínez’s guidance, Telum developed its proprietary APEX platform, yielding new antimicrobial agents derived from endolysins with broad-spectrum antibacterial efficacy, resistance prevention, and proven effectiveness in various Gram-negative infection models. Additionally, he has fortified the company’s scientific leadership, expanded the Board and established a premier Scientific Advisory Board.

Reflecting on the transition, Dr. Díez-Martínez remarked, “After years of progress and technological breakthroughs at Telum, I warmly welcome Dr. Basu as the new CEO. I am confident that Dr. Basu’s leadership, in concert with the Telum team, will drive significant scientific, technological, and clinical advancements, positioning Telum as a transformative force in infectious disease treatment through innovative technology like endolysin-based phage lysin enzyme platforms (EPLEs).”

Dr. Basu’s vision for Telum Therapeutics involves ushering in a new development phase for its therapies, with a clear corporate strategy which will include a focus on advancing candidates to the clinic, expanding the portfolio of Telum’s novel engineered lysins and establishing strategic partnerships to fully exploit the APEX platform’s potential.

About Telum Therapeutics

Founded in Navarra in 2019, by Roberto Díez and Rubén Díez, Telum Therapeutics, S.L., is a global drug discovery biotechnology company that develops new treatments for infectious diseases based on the use of lytic enzymes from bacteriophages, called enzybiotics. In 2020, the company raised its first round of financing from Invivo Ventures, and the co-investment of Clave Capital and CDTI-Innvierte.

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