The biotech CytoDyn (OTCQB:CYDY) installed Cyrus Arman as president starting on July 9, 2022. Arman will assume the CEO role and join the company’s board within six months.
Before joining CytoDyn, Arman was the chief business officer at Nimble Therapeutics (Madison, Wisconsin), assuming that role on September 08, 2021.
“Early in the process, Dr. Arman separated himself from the competition, diving deep into due diligence with a methodical, analytical and inspired approach,” said Tanya Urbach, board chair, in a statement. “He has the intellectual capacity, experience, and character to lead CytoDyn into the future.”
Cyrys Arman
Arman has worked in the life sciences industry for more than 15 years, which includes working as a director in Amgen’s Corporate Strategy group.
He holds an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles; a Ph.D. in neuroscience and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Southern California; and a bachelor’s in biopsychology from the University of California, San Diego.
CytoDyn’s former interim President, Antonio Migliarese, will return to his prior role as CFO.
The Vancouver, Washington–based company’s lead drug candidate is the CCR5 antagonist leronlimab.
“Leronlimab is a unique molecule with the potential to help many individuals, particularly with unmet medical needs,” said Cyrus Arman in a statement. “We will focus on enhancing shareholder value through focused execution and refining of the path forward for leronlimab.”
CytoDyn is pursuing multiple leronlimab indications, including infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions.
To date, has studied the drug candidate for COVID-19 pneumonia, graft-versus-host disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and solid tumors.
In May, CytoDyn resolved a legal dispute with Dr. Richard Pestell, the company’s former medical officer who had been “fired with cause” in 2019.