Ziarco appoints Mike Grey to board of directors

Biopharma firm Ziarco, which has a focus on inflammatory skin diseases, has named Mike Grey as an independent director on the company's board.

Grey is chairman and CEO of Reneo Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotech company, and is additionally a venture partner at Pappas Ventures.

From February 2011 until its acquisition by Shire in May 2014, Grey also served as founder, president and CEO of Lumena Pharma, a biotech focused on developing novel treatments for rare liver diseases.

Concerning his appointment, Grey said: “I am delighted to join Ziarco's board, as the company has a strong leadership team and promising lead compounds for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

“I look forward to working with the Ziarco team to help grow the company and propel its product candidates forward.”

During his time at Lumena, the company raised $75m, licensed two clinical stage asset and initiated seven phase II studies of its lead compound.

Grey has served as CEO at numerous biopharma companies, including Auspex Pharma, SGZ Pharma and Trega Biosciences. He has also held the role of president at BioChem Therapeutic and president and COO at Ansan.

Ed Mathers, chairman of Ziarco, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Mike to Ziarco's board of directors. His extensive experience and insight as both a board member and a top-level executive in the biopharma industry will certainly prove invaluable to Ziarco as we advance out lead compounds, ZPL-389 and ZPL-521, through proof-of-concept studies.”

Grey is currently on the boards of BioMarin Pharma, Horizon Pharma, Mirati Therapeutics and Selventa.