Fate Therapeutics names Christian Weyer president, CEO
San Diego, Calif.-based Fate Therapeutics has appointed Christian Weyer, M.D., M.A.S., president and CEO, and elected him to the board of directors, effective immediately.
Previously, Dr. Weyer spent 12 years with Amylin Pharmaceuticals, most recently as senior vice president of R&D, until its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb in August 2012.
William H. Rastetter, a partner at Venrock who has served as Fate's interim CEO since November 2011, will remain chairman of the board of directors.
"Fate Therapeutics is pioneering innovative strategies to harness the therapeutic potential of adult stem cell biology, targeting disease areas of high unmet need that have not been adequately addressed by other pharmaceutical modalities," said Dr. Weyer. "I am excited to join Fate as we are well-poised to accelerate the advancement of key programs, including ProHema, which may enable a new treatment paradigm for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation."
At Amylin, Dr. Weyer contributed to the development, approval and commercialization of several first-in-class diabetes medicines. Prior to Amylin, Dr. Weyer spent three years with the National Institutes of Health, NIDDK, in Phoenix, where he conducted clinical research on the pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes.