1859 Welcomes Sanket Agrawal as New CEO

Agrawal Brings Broad Therapeutics Expertise to Propel Novel AI-Based Discovery

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–1859, an AI-based small molecule drug discovery company advancing next generation medicines, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sanket Agrawal as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective April 2023. As an experienced biopharma business leader, Agrawal joins 1859 to drive its next stage of growth and deliver on the company’s potential to rapidly discover superior molecules. The company has demonstrated its discovery engine capabilities through more than 15 partnerships with pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic organizations, yielding novel small molecule compound designs for multiple targets.

“We are delighted to welcome Sanket Agrawal as our new CEO. His exceptional leadership qualities and extensive industry expertise will drive our strategic vision forward.” commented Daniel Fero Ph.D., Managing Director at OMX Ventures and 1859 Board member. “He brings deep therapeutics and platform experience to lead the 1859 team and apply the company’s unique platform to advance molecules for high value targets and therapeutic areas.”

Agrawal brings a proven track record of driving growth and commercial success in innovative therapeutics and diagnostics. Before 1859, as Chief Business Officer at Foundation Medicine, he oversaw the leading biopharma business in the sector and established major industry partnerships. Prior to that, he held various executive roles at Amgen, including General Manager for KRAS, leading the rapid development, approval, and launch of the first-ever targeted therapy for KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer.

“Under his guidance,” said Lily Li Ph.D., Principal at Northpond Ventures and 1859 Board member, “we believe that 1859’s integrated engine will tackle new therapeutic targets and find improved chemical matter for well-validated ones, expanding the company’s internal development pipeline and fostering collaborations with biopharma partners.”

“I am thrilled to join 1859 and be part of an extraordinary team that is committed to bringing new medicines to patients faster,” said Agrawal. “1859’s powerful engine integrates combinatorial chemistry, pico-scale activity-based screening, and AI, generating millions of empirical data points weekly to enable rapid discovery. Supported by outstanding investors who believe in our vision, we will continue to develop our engine’s capabilities to tackle emerging targets and modalities in the field.”

As 1859 moves forward fueled by Agrawal’s leadership, the company is poised to make significant strides in advancing the next generation of medicines and reshaping the drug discovery paradigm.

Contacts

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