What Happened?
San Francisco, CA-based Symic-Biomedical Appointed Ken Horne as Chief Executive Officer
About the Company
Symic is developing a new category of therapeutics that offer an exciting and biologically innovative approach to treating disease. While it is clear that cells play an important role in tissue inflammation and regeneration, it is also known that the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an equally critical role in maintaining healthy tissue. The ECM is the non-cellular component of the body’s tissues, and proteoglycans are important structural and functional macromolecules native to the ECM that are known to protect against tissue degradation and promote healing during illness or injury. Recognizing the importance of proteoglycans in many acute and chronic disease states, Symic developed a library of proprietary, ECM-specific compounds that mimic the protective effect of natural proteoglycans. For controlled injuries (e.g. incisions, balloon angioplasty), Symic’s ECM-specific compounds allow for local application, enhancing their ability to attenuate inflammation and reduce scarring only at the site of injury. In disease states known for chronic inflammation involving the ECM (e.g. cartilage in osteoarthritis), Symic’s technology can disrupt the cycle of degradation-inflammation by directly targeting and protecting the injured ECM. The ECM plays a critical role in many acute and chronic disease states, many of which have limited or no effective therapeutic options. Symic plans to advance its compounds in a variety of therapeutic areas with unmet clinical needs.
About the Person
Mr. Horne has over 12 years of experience in the life science industry as an executive, entrepreneur and investor. He joined Symic Biomedical as CEO in April 2014. Previously, he was a founding member of TauTona Group, an early stage life science venture capital fund. At TauTona, Mr. Horne founded Aline Aesthetics, a novel biomaterial company, where he led the company as General Manager until its acquisition by Allergan (AGN) in 2014. He also served as Vice President of Business Development for TauTona portfolio companies, which included acquisitions by LifeCell and Novadaq (NVDQ). Mr. Horne has a BS and MS degree from Stanford University in mechanical engineering. He serves on the board of the Bay Area Discovery Museum (non-profit), and is also a Kauffman Fellow.
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