Akero Team Launches Avere Therapeutics with Fairmount
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- Avere Therapeutics launched as a publicly traded biotech focused on developing an oral IL-23 targeted drug for psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, and other immunological conditions
- Andrew Cheng, Kitty Yale, and William White — the former executive team of Akero Therapeutics — are leading Avere Therapeutics after selling Akero to Novo Nordisk for $5 billion
- Fairmount backed the formation of Avere Therapeutics, partnering with the Akero alumni team to build the new company around a drug licensed from a Chinese firm
- AstraZeneca paid $600 million upfront to acquire global rights to Zegfrovy, an EGFR inhibitor from Dizal Pharmaceutical Co., approved in the U.S. and China for advanced non-small cell lung cancer
Why it matters: The Akero team’s rapid pivot to launch Avere with Fairmount backing signals strong investor confidence in their ability to replicate prior success, while AstraZeneca’s $600M move strengthens its EGFR-mutated lung cancer portfolio at a time when targeted therapies are becoming standard of care.
