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Eikon Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Michael Klobuchar as Chief Operating Officer

News

Eikon Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Michael Klobuchar as Chief Operating Officer
News

News

Eikon Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Michael Klobuchar as Chief Operating Officer

2024-11-20 20:32 Last Updated At:20:40

HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 20, 2024--

Eikon Therapeutics, Inc., a pioneering biotechnology company that leverages advanced engineering to enhance drug discovery and development, today announced that Michael A. Klobuchar has been appointed Chief Operating Officer. He joins Eikon from Merck & Co. Inc. where he most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241120479537/en/

In his new role, Mr. Klobuchar will oversee Eikon’s corporate infrastructure, including global supply chain management and product manufacturing, and he will play a key role as a member of the company’s Executive Committee. In addition to leading Eikon’s enterprise efforts, he will manage key executives across Eikon Systems, IT, facilities, and business operations to ensure strategic alignment and operational execution as the company enters its next phase of growth.

“Mike is an outstanding leader whose expertise spans research, manufacturing, finance, and business strategy,” said Roger M. Perlmutter, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and Board Chair of Eikon Therapeutics. “His deep experience in navigating complex industrial strategies and his proven track record of operational excellence make him the ideal person to lead Eikon’s infrastructure development as we scale our efforts to bring transformative discovery technologies to scientists and innovative new therapies to patients. I am pleased to welcome Mike to the Eikon team.”

A chemical engineer by training, Mr. Klobuchar joined Merck in 1998 as a synthetic process development engineer supporting new pipeline candidates within Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) and rapidly rose through the organization to hold senior leadership roles across manufacturing, R&D, finance, and corporate strategy. Most recently, as Merck’s Chief Strategy Officer, he oversaw business development, global technology, digital transformation, operations, and risk mitigation, reporting directly to the CEO. Prior to this role, Mr. Klobuchar was Senior Vice President, CFO, and Head of Portfolio and Alliance Management for MRL and led the Global Portfolio and Alliance Management group within that organization. He currently serves on the board of Revvity, an 11,000-employee provider of diagnostics and life sciences tools, instruments, and software. Mr. Klobuchar holds an M.B.A. from Villanova University, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in chemical engineering from Rutgers University and Purdue University, respectively.

“Eikon’s pioneering approach to measuring the dynamic behavior of individual protein molecules in living cells at a massive scale is transforming both scientific discovery and therapeutic innovation,” said Mr. Klobuchar. “I am honored to join this exceptional team and look forward to building the operational foundation that will propel the company’s growth and advance the development of cutting-edge discovery tools and groundbreaking therapies that deliver meaningful progress for patients and the scientific community alike.”

About Eikon Therapeutics

Eikon Therapeutics seeks to advance breakthrough therapeutics through the purposeful integration of engineering and science. Our proprietary discovery technologies leverage Nobel Prize-winning super-resolution microscopy, advanced engineering, and high-performance computing to visualize and measure the real-time movement of proteins in living cells, with the goal of bringing important new medicines to people suffering from grievous illness. Eikon operates from its facilities in California, New Jersey, and New York, and can be found online at www.EikonTx.com or LinkedIn.

Michael A. Klobuchar has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Eikon Therapeutics. (Photo: Business Wire)

Michael A. Klobuchar has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Eikon Therapeutics. (Photo: Business Wire)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has been charged with possession of an illegal firearm after appearing in a military court days after he was reported missing during a book launch in Kenya.

The former president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party was also charged with “soliciting military support in Geneva, Greece and Nairobi to prejudice security of defense forces.”

Besigye was produced in the Ugandan court on Wednesday, four days after he went missing in Nairobi and hours after his wife claimed he had been kidnapped.

He was charged alongside FDC member Hajj Lutale Kamulegeya. The pair, who deny all charges against them, were remanded in custody until Dec. 2.

Besigye, who at first appeared without lawyers, rejected government legal representation and said he was not a member of the armed forces and should be tried in a civilian court.

His wife Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS, wrote on the social platform X on Wednesday that her husband was “kidnapped” on Saturday in Kenya and that she was “reliably informed” that he was being held in a military jail.

“We his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” Byanyima wrote.

The Ugandan government has not commented.

Korir Singoei, Kenya’s foreign affairs permanent secretary, told local media that Kenya was not involved in the alleged incident.

Besigye, a fierce critic of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has faced arrest and assault on previous occasions. He was once Museveni’s personal doctor and has contested and lost four presidential elections.

Museveni, who has ruled the east African country since 1986, has been criticized by human rights groups over alleged violations against opposition figures.

FILE - Opposition politician and then presidential candidate Kizza Besigye speaks to the media while under house arrest at his home in Kasangati, outside the capital Kampala, in Uganda on Feb. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - Opposition politician and then presidential candidate Kizza Besigye speaks to the media while under house arrest at his home in Kasangati, outside the capital Kampala, in Uganda on Feb. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

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