What if patients with special medical needs have easier access to the treatments they need?

Neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, and cardiovascular disease affect millions of people worldwide. Patients who face severe health conditions are looking for a treatment that can provide them with a better quality of life and fewer health problems.

With a mission to develop top-quality biologics that can improve the way of living for patients facing complicated diseases, John Li and Samuel Murphy founded SalubrisBio in 2016.

SalubrisBio is a subsidiary of Salubris Pharmaceutical, headquartered in the USA. This company targets cardiovascular disease, oncology issues, and neurodegenerative conditions and is the first company to include a bispecific antibody in clinical trials in a human cardiovascular indication.

SalubrisBio is committed to innovation and keeps the core philosophy of therapeutics development for huge patient populations with specific unmet needs. If you are interested in learning all about SalubrisBio and its pioneering research and innovative development programs, stay tuned!

Wonder Kids: Mighty Scientific Leaders

John Li was a shy boy who enjoyed bettering himself by reading additional literature related to science and medicine. He joined Fudan University and gained a B.S. degree, but he was hungry for knowledge and entered North Carolina State University.

As soon as John took his Ph.D. degree into his hands, he started his prosperous career as a scientific leader in Tanox/Genentech, Inc, MedImmune LLC/AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline PLC. After gaining enough experience in discovering and developing biological drugs, John decided to make a giant step, and in 2016, he founded SalubrisBio (Salubris Biotherapeutics, Inc.).

The story about SalubrisBio wouldn’t be so impressive without Samuel Murphy. Samuel was interested in medicine and science as a kid, and he dreamt about becoming a doctor. He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, and 4 years later, he graduated cum laude with departmental honors in biochemistry.

Samuel earned a Ph. D. in Cell and Molecular Biology/Virology from the University of Pennsylvania and spent a decade working for global companies, including IMS.

In the Right Place at the Right Time

While Samuel was working for IMS, he got in touch with the CEO of China-based Salubris Pharmaceuticals, the parent company of SalubrisBio. That connection led to serious discussions about creating a venture fund and joining Salubris, as well as other potential scientific discoveries.

Samuel became Head of global business development and liked the idea of forming SalubrisBio, a U.S. biotech subsidiary of Salubris headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

John became the CEO of SalubrisBio, and Samuel was impressed by his unique way of combining molecular biology, physiology, and medicine.

SalubrisBio started developing innovative, compound biologic therapeutics that can significantly improve disease-related issues and life for patients with different medical needs. Samuel was happy to work with John, as his unique way of understanding the molecules inside the human body made their programs so exciting.

However, Sam’s job wasn’t easy at all. As a co-founder of a new company with headquarters on 2 continents, he had to deal with a multi-time zone and a multi-tasking life.

Promising Results

SalubrisBio is led by a well-educated team that prefers working in silence and lets their success make the noise. Still, the current chief executive officer, Sam, revealed that he is enthusiastic about the incredible opportunities waiting for them. Sam said they continue to focus on advancing their programs and obtaining new funding sources to continue the improvement of their range of antibody proteins as well as other compound biologics.

Since its beginning, SalubrisBio and its team have made many discoveries and developed a platform where they can address noteworthy medical information about cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular disease needs.

SalubrisBio has multiple resources in preclinical and clinical development, and some extra programs are still in the development stage. The company's lead asset is JK07, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials to ensure safety as well as tolerability. Sam is proud of JK07 as it is the first antibody that may bind in 2 different antigens that have entered a clinical trial in a heart indication.

The highly experienced team in Salubris works hard, and Cohort 1 results of the ongoing placebo-controlled study showed an encouraging safety profile. Results also demonstrated promising indications of clinical benefit and maximum progress in ejection fraction.

Cohort 2 turned beneficial, but SalubrisBio hasn’t reported additional information from that HFrEF clinical trial, but they will do it in the upcoming medical meetings. Sam also announced that the FDA has already agreed to start a Phase 1 study of SalubrisBio’s JK07.

SalubrisBio's study of JK07 on the subject of heart failure keeps demonstrating favorable safety and encouraging signals of clinical activity. Sam and his team look forward to gaining additional insights as they enter Cohort 3.

Fresh Energy for Better Support

Clinical data is the primary currency of the medical industry, and SalubrisBio is currently generating significant clinical results. So Sam decided that the beginning of 2022 was the best time for the SalubrisBio to expand and strengthen its leadership team when they invited Dr. Arian Pano to join them.

In April 2022, Dr. Arian Pano entered the SalubrisBio team as a chief medical officer. Arian has a rich scientific research and development background with a focus on fibrosis, inflammation, cardiovascular, and rare metabolic diseases. He holds an MD degree in cardiology and pediatrics from the University of Tirana, Albania, and an MPH in Healthcare Management from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

Arian brought fresh energy to SalubrisBio, built their clinical institute, and escorted their drugs over mid and late-stage drug development, providing data management and support for their future planned regulatory filings.

Small Company with a Huge Potential

SalubrisBio has about 20 employees but has many competitors, including Puma Biotechnology, Revolution Medicines, and LegoChem Biosciences. Even though some of their competitors have more employees and long experience in the medical industry, they don’t have as exciting programs as SalubrisBio.

Samuel and the leadership team are proud of what SalubrisBio has achieved so far. Being on the market for about 5 years, SalubrisBio became a highly appreciated biotechnology company.

Their passion and expertise drive their assets through different phases of clinical/preclinical development to provide revolutionary biologic therapies to those who need them.

The SalubrisBio team believes they can achieve their ambitions by implementing challenges and appreciating teamwork. But who funds SalubrisBio?

SalubrisBio IPO

Salubris Biotherapeutics, Inc., or SalubrisBio, has had only 1 investor so far. The company received $32M in financing from the prominent China-based Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. Sam and his team used a part of this investment completed in the 4th quarter of 2021 to advance its current pipeline. They did that, including continuing their ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial.

The leadership of SalubrisBio revealed that they would use the other part of the investment to launch 2 additional Phase 1b clinical trials that will start this year and expand the pipeline through R&D further.

SalubrisBio Future Plans

SalubrisBio is a small company right now, but they have huge plans. Namely, SalubrisBio has an intention to expand globally and improve its programs to the maximum in the near future.

Currently, their key partners are the clinical sites they’re working with, but SalubrisBio expects to attract new partners, preferably big pharmaceutical companies.

SalubrisBio truly wants to take full advantage of the molecule's potential, and if all the things go the way they expect, they may go in the clinic!

It looks like SalabrisBio is on its way to becoming a new name in the medical revolution!