Aeglea BioTherapeutics is rebranding, unveiling a new name and a host of leadership changes.
The company announced Monday that it will go by its new name, Spyre Therapeutics, and has a host of executive hires to boot.
The move comes a few months after Aeglea acquired Spyre Therapeutics and is seeking to make a name for itself in the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) space. Spyre will now be trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “SYRE” as of this week, the biotech said in a press release.
Spyre also picked up Cameron Turtle, who will helm the company as CEO. Before being appointed as CEO, Turtle served as chief operating officer of Spyre and previously worked as chief strategy officer at BridgeBio Pharma.
The name change builds upon Aeglea’s acquisition of Spyre in June, which was meant to advance Spyre’s robust pipeline of antibody therapeutics with the potential to transform the treatment of IBD, the biotech said at the time.
Before Aeglea decided to acquire Spyre in June, it had experienced a tumultuous year, highlighted by a disappointing readout from its Phase 1/2 clinical trial of pegtarviliase in classical homocystinuria. This led the company to announce it was exploring strategic alternatives.
Now, it’s taking on the Spyre name to further underscore its “ambition to achieve new heights” in the efficacy and convenience of IBD therapies.
Currently, it’s betting on two lead candidates – including SPY001, which is an anti-α4β7 monoclonal antibody that’s currently in investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies. SPY001 is expected to enter first-in-human (FIH) studies in 2024.
The second candidate is SPY002, an anti-TL1A monoclonal antibody that Spyre says is a “promising target” in IBD and immunology in general. FIH studies for SPY002 are expected to begin in the second half of 2024.
The pharma is also considering SPY003, a monoclonal antibody, for an IND application in 2025.
In addition to Turtle, Spyre announced several other leadership hires – including Joshua Friedman as SVP of clinical development. Friedman previously held roles at Spark Therapeutics and Johnson & Johnson.
Spyre also brought on Deanna Nguyen as SVP of clinical development, Mira Huyghe as SVP of development operations and Brian Connolly as chief technical officer.
“The Spyre team is dedicated to materially improving upon today’s standard of care for the treatment of IBD,” Turtle said in a statement. “I am delighted to lead this team of knowledgeable and passionate industry experts as we seek to deliver infrequently administered, subcutaneous antibody combinations targeting the best validated therapeutic pathways for this disease.”
