The appointments strengthen the company to drive the development of Sonelokimab, a potentially best-in-class Tri-specific Nanobody for the treatment of multiple skin and joint diseases driven by IL-17A/IL-17F.

Simon Sturge is the new Chairman of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics AG, and Spike Loy has joined the Company’s Board of Directors. 

Mr. Sturge has 40 years of international leadership experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he was Chief Executive Officer of Kymab, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing fully human monoclonal antibodies with a focus on immunologic disease and immune-oncology and was instrumental in its sale to Sanofi in early 2021. 

Previously, Mr. Sturge served as Chief Operating Officer for Merck Healthcare, a division of Merck KGaA. He has also held roles at Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltech Biologics and Ribotargets.

 "I am incredibly excited to join the Board of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, with the opportunity to make a highly innovative new modality treatment available to patients suffering from a range of debilitating inflammatory skin and joint diseases,” Sturge says in a news release.  “It is a privilege to support a first-class leadership team of immunology specialists in my role as Chairman. I hope and intend to help guide MoonLake through a period of intense activity, leveraging my extensive Biotech experience and understanding of what it takes to successfully bring an immunology asset forward."

Spike Loy, Managing Director of BVF Partners L.P. has been appointed a Member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Loy has been a member of BVF's investment team since 2009. He holds a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and a JD from Harvard Law School.

"BVF is a founding investor in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, and it is our aim to help ensure that Sonelokimab achieves its full potential in a range of diseases where there is substantial need for new treatment options,” Loy says.  “I am excited to support the expert team at MoonLake in my role as Board member and investor."

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics AG was founded in 2021, backed by a Series A financing led by BVF Partners L.P. Other shareholders include Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

The Company intends to accelerate the clinical development of Sonelokimab, an investigational IL-17A/IL-17F inhibitor, in several diseases in which over-expression of the cytokines IL-17A and IL-17F is a major driver of the pathophysiology. 

Sonelokimab has an albumin binding site, which has the potential to facilitate deep tissue penetration in the skin and joints.The group of IL-17A/F Inflammatory Diseases (AFIDs) includes psoriatic arthritis, radiographic axial spondylo-arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), and hidradenitis suppurativa - conditions affecting large numbers of patients worldwide with a major need for improved treatment options. Multiple Phase 2 trials are expected to be launched soon.