Zephyr AI, Inc., a high-growth healthcare technology company committed to developing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to democratize precision medicine, has announced that veteran biotechnology executive John Applegate has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer.
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John Applegate, CFO, Zephyr AI. (Photo: Business Wire)
“With John’s appointment, Zephyr continues to demonstrate its ability to attract some of the best and brightest talent,” said Zephyr’s Co-Founder, Interim CEO, and Chief Technology Officer Jeff Sherman. “John has spent decades crafting strategy, managing billion-dollar budgets, driving growth, and bringing to bear his vast financial experience at extraordinarily successful companies. As a collaborative leader committed to driving innovation, John is the perfect fit for the Zephyr team.”
A seasoned C-level biotechnology executive, Applegate comes to Zephyr with more than 25 years of experience in finance, strategy, accounting, capital formation, investor relations, and business development. He is the former CFO of biotechnology company Verge Genomics, where he raised a new round of equity financing in conjunction with a major strategic partnership with AstraZeneca. Prior to his employment at Verge, Applegate was the vice president of accounting and finance at Valo Health, where he was a member of a senior leadership team that presided over a company valuation increase from seed to greater than $1B. In addition, Applegate previously worked at biotechnology company Biogen as its senior director and head of finance worldwide for the research and development organization. During his 14-year career at Biogen, Applegate also supported major business development transactions, including the $3.25B purchase of TYSABRI® rights from Elan Corporation, plc., and managed critical alliances on Biogen’s behalf that included collaborations with Eisai Co., Ltd., on developing and commercializing drug candidates to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and Genentech for developing and commercializing the oncology blockbuster RITUXAN®. Applegate holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University.
Applegate’s appointment comes as Zephyr AI prepares to present a scientific poster (Abstract # 5583/454: Evaluation of novel signature for PARP inhibitor sensitivity prediction using real-world data) at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on Monday, June 3rd, at 9am in Chicago.
“The identification of an AI-guided predictor of PARP sensitivity is a great example of how Zephyr is committed to using its technology to guide novel scientific discovery. Our presentation at ASCO is likely to stimulate considerable discussion about how we can aid drug discovery in both cancer and cardiometabolic disease,” Applegate said. “Having recently closed a $111 million Series A funding round, Zephyr is poised for an exciting period of rapid growth. I’m delighted to be joining such a talented team and am ready to support our next phase of development.”
About Zephyr AI: Zephyr AI is a high-growth healthcare technology company committed to radically reshaping precision medicine in oncology and cardiometabolic disease. Through partnerships and proprietary data, Zephyr AI is curating the world’s most comprehensive healthcare dataset and marrying it with cutting-edge artificial intelligence algorithms to generate novel, translatable insights to build tools and products that support patients and providers and fuel ongoing research. At Zephyr AI, our mission-focused team of world-class software engineers and biologists leverage big data and next-generation technology to derive transformational insights and build enduring partnerships that will revolutionize the treatment of cancer and cardiometabolic disease. Visit us at www.zephyrai.bio and follow us on LinkedIn.
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