May 12, 2023

May 11, 2023 Jay Galeota Kallyope , a New York startup developing therapeutics for diseases with high unmet needs, has received a $8.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant adds to a huge war chest of $479 million Kallyope has raised from venture firms, including Baltimore-based Greenspring Associates. Greenspring’s stake in Kallyope, during its participation in a Series C round, is now held by New York-based StepStone Group after it acquired Greenspring in 2021. Commercialization Rights Under a four-year agreement with the Gates Foundation, Kallyope will develop bioactive compounds that can help undernourished pregnant and lactating women who are experiencing so-called environmental enteric dysfunctions (EED). Such compounds are expected to improve maternal, newborn and children’s health. Kallyope will retain the right to commercialize compounds derived from the program as possible therapeutics in other global regions. “This is a unique, inspiring opportunity for Kallyope to positively impact global health by leveraging our industry-leading research platform, Klarity, which integrates multiple sophisticated technologies to develop transformative therapeutics in the areas of metabolism, gastrointestinal disease, and neurological disorders,” said Kallyope president and CEO Jay Galeota , an industry veteran who previously led Inheris BioPharma. For 28 years, Galeota served Merck, holding the positions of chief strategy and business development officer and president of Emerging Business toward the end. He holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from Villanova University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. Gut-Brain Axis Kallyope was founded by Nancy Thornberry, presently the company’s chairman, in 2015. She  served as its CEO until 2021, and now chairs the company’s Research & Development team. Prior to Kallyope, Thornberry headed Merck’s franchise for diabetes and endocrinology. citybiz+ Sponsors