Celsius Therapeutics Appoints Tariq Kassum, M.D., as Chief Executive Officer

Experienced biopharma leader brings business development, strategy
and company-building expertise to accelerate Celsius’ growth

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Celsius Therapeutics, a company translating single-cell genomic insights
into precision therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases and
cancer, today announced the appointment of Tariq Kassum, M.D., as
president and chief executive officer. Dr. Kassum brings nearly 20 years
of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to Celsius. He succeeds
interim CEO Alexis Borisy, who will remain chairman of the company’s
board of directors.

“Since its launch just over a year ago, Celsius has been making
tremendous progress, and we are very excited to welcome Tariq as CEO to
lead the company through its next phase of development,” said Alexis
Borisy, chairman of Celsius. “Tariq brings a highly diverse skill set
incorporating corporate development, strategy and business leadership.
His extensive experience in multiple settings in the biotechnology
industry will be instrumental in helping guide the company going
forward.”

Dr. Kassum joins the company from Obsidian Therapeutics, where he was a
co-founder and served as chief operating officer and head of corporate
development. During this time, Dr. Kassum helped build Obsidian into a
leading platform technology company and played a central role in the
company’s strategic partnership with Celgene. Prior to Obsidian, Dr.
Kassum spent seven years with Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Takeda,
most recently as vice president, business development and strategy for
Takeda Oncology, responsible for transactions, collaborations, alliance
management and strategic planning. He also led Takeda’s global corporate
development efforts, where he managed multiple acquisitions and
divestitures. Prior to Takeda, Dr. Kassum was an analyst covering
healthcare equities for institutional investment firms, where he led
diligence and investment decisions on numerous companies and
pharmaceutical compounds. He began his career as an investment banker
with CIBC World Markets serving clients in the biotechnology and
specialty pharmaceuticals industries. He holds an M.D. from University
of Toronto and an A.B. from Cornell University.

“Celsius has integrated a unique combination of technologies, including
single-cell genomics, machine learning, deep biology and drug discovery,
all in the service of patients with serious conditions including
autoimmune diseases and cancer,” said Dr. Kassum. “I am thrilled to be
joining the company at this stage as we establish the power of this
multifaceted approach to drive a portfolio of transformative therapies
for patients.”

About Celsius Therapeutics

Celsius Therapeutics is charting a new course of target and drug
discovery by applying a systematic approach to single-cell sequencing of
patient tissue, combining massive datasets, complex algorithms, and
machine learning to discover first-in-class precision therapies with a
transformative impact on the lives of patients with autoimmune diseases
and cancer. Celsius was launched in 2018, is backed by Third Rock
Ventures and GV (formerly Google Ventures), and is based in Cambridge,
Mass. For more information, please visit www.celsiustx.com.

Contacts

Katie Engleman
1AB
[email protected]