Coultreon Biopharma appointed Prista Charuworn, a Stanford-trained gastroenterologist and former Gilead, AstraZeneca, and Zai Lab executive, as CMO. She will lead the Phase II push for COL-5671, a first-in-class SIK3 inhibitor for ulcerative colitis and psoriasis.
Coultreon Biopharma appointed Prista Charuworn, a Stanford-trained gastroenterologist and transplant hepatologist, as chief medical officer. The Leuven, Belgium-based company is preparing to move its lead drug, COL-5671, into Phase II testing for ulcerative colitis and psoriasis.
Charuworn joins from Zai Lab, where she was global head of neuroscience and immunology. Her industry career spans Gilead Sciences, AstraZeneca, Amgen and Zai Lab, with a focus on drugs for inflammatory bowel disease and dermatologic conditions. She completed fellowships in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology at Stanford.
“I'm excited to join Coultreon at a pivotal time as the company prepares for clinical studies in ulcerative colitis and psoriasis,” Charuworn said in a statement. “COL-5671 generated compelling data in a recently completed first-in-human study, demonstrating a favorable safety profile and highly promising pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. These findings reinforce its potential as a convenient once-daily oral therapy for patients across a spectrum of inflammatory diseases.”
CEO Pierre Raboisson called the appointment “an important milestone” for Coultreon. “Prista's extensive experience developing drugs for a variety of inflammatory diseases, combined with her excellent understanding of disease biology, will be critical to executing our ambitious development plans and ensuring timely, high-quality clinical data,” he said.
COL-5671 is a selective inhibitor of salt-inducible kinase 3 (SIK3), an enzyme involved in inflammatory signaling. The company’s pipeline is built around that biology, with the drug positioned as a once-daily oral therapy. The first-in-human study has already produced the data Charuworn cited; the next step is Phase II.
Charuworn’s hiring comes as Coultreon shifts from discovery into clinical execution. Her experience at large pharma companies – including AstraZeneca, where she worked before moving to Zai Lab – suggests the company is thinking about later-stage development and potential partnerships. The autoimmune disease market for oral therapies is large and competitive, with drugs like Tofacitinib (Xeljanz) generating billions in annual sales. COL-5671 targets a different pathway, which could offer a differentiated safety profile.
Coultreon said it is preparing Phase II studies in ulcerative colitis and psoriasis. No start date for those trials was announced. The company’s Alpha Score on AlphaScala is 42 out of 100, reflecting a mixed near-term outlook for the stock.
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