Pegcetacoplan

This roundup will be published monthly. It is meant to highlight some of healthcare’s recent hiring news and is not intended to be comprehensive. If you have news about an executive appointment, resignation or layoff that you would like to share for this roundup or the MedCity Moves podcast, please reach out to moves@medcitynews.com. Exits Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan CEO Dan Loepp announced that he will be retiring at the end of 2024. He has been with the insurer for more than two decades. Beginning this December, BCBS Michigan will begin a national search for a new president and CEO. Amir Dan Rubin said he will resign from his role as CEO of One Medical before the end of the year. He led the membership-based primary care practice for more than six years. Before his tenure at One Medical, Rubin had served as a division CEO within Optum, CEO of Stanford Health Care and COO of UCLA Health. Rosalind Brewer stepped down from her role as CEO of Walgreens. The company’s press release said she and the board of directors came to this decision mutually. Ginger Graham, who previously served as the lead independent director of Walgreens, has stepped up as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement for Brewer. Hires Bryan Hanson left his role as CEO of orthopedic device maker Zimmer Biomet and became the new CEO of 3M’s healthcare business. 3M has said that it is seeking to spin off this division by the end of this year or nearly next year. Aledade, a national network of independent primary care practices, appointed Julie Green Bataille as its new senior vice president of communications. She is a seasoned communications leader, and one of her past roles was director of communications at CMS. Emory Healthcare welcomed Joe Depa as its first chief data and analytics officer. He came to the Atlanta-based health system from Accenture, where he was the global leader for data and AI. Health information network Surescripts named Lynne Nowak as first chief data and analytics officer. She has held leadership roles at Lark Health and Cigna/Evernorth/Express Scripts. Toyosi Okurounmu became national chief medical officer and vice president of medical leadership and clinical performance at UnitedHealthcare’s community and state division, which provides managed Medicaid services in 30 states. Before joining the company, she held clinical leadership roles at Humana. Promotions AHIP announced that its general counsel, Julie Simon Miller, will become interim CEO on October 2, after Matt Eyles officially steps down from his role. She has been with the association for more than 18 years. No longer in an interim role, Chris Allen became the new permanent CFO at Keck Medicine of USC. Some of his previous roles include CFO of Adventist Health and senior director of budget and decision support at UC Irvine Health. Mayo Clinic Arizona appointed Bhavik Patel as chief AI officer. He joined Mayo Clinic as a radiologist in 2021. Most recently, he served as the medical director for AI/machine learning innovation and enablement for Mayo Clinic’s Center for Digital Health. Penn Medicine named Kevin Kline as its first medical director of LGBTQ health. Prior to his new role, he served as an assistant professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. Layoffs Biotech firm 2seventy Bio eliminated 176 positions, which is about 40% of its workforce. The company also said that its CEO, Nick Leschly, will step down and transition to the role of chairman. Akili is laying off 40% of its workforce. The company, which makes video games to treat behavioral health disorders, said it plans to change its business model by switching to a nonprescription model for its digital therapeutics. Apellis Pharmaceuticals laid off about a quarter of its employees, which is about 225 people. Along with these job cuts, the company is also scrapping two of its preclinical drug candidates. This reorganizing will help Apellis focus on Syfovre, its recently approved vision loss drug. CommonSpirit Health laid off about 2,000 full-time workers serving in “ancillary, support and overhead functions.” The news came as the health system posted a $1.4 billion operating loss for the end of the fiscal year. Ohio-based health system ProMedica laid off about 20 administrative workers. The health system had another round of layoffs in January, which affected 262 employees. Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, California laid off 96 employees, all of whom worked in women’s and newborn services. Unite Us, a technology company focused on connecting healthcare and social service providers, laid off a portion of its workforce. The company did not disclose the number of affected employees, but Fierce Healthcare viewed a Slack channel created by and for those impacted by the layoffs — the publication reported that the channel had more than 120 members as of September 6. Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut laid off 26 staff members, 17 of whom were in clinical positions. The hospital is one of three that its parent company, Prospect Medical Holdings, is looking to sell to Yale New Haven Health. The following announcement is presented by MedCity News’ sponsor company, Swift Medical: Swift Medical, a digital health company that helps nurses identify wounds and provide better care for them, welcomed Neil Sharma as its new chief commercial officer and Joseph Filippoli as its new chief information officer. Most recently, Sharma served as executive vice president at digital physical therapy provider Sword Health. Filippoli most recently served as chief information officer at Tabula Rasa HealthCare, a company that provides pharmacy cost management services.

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: APLS) today announced that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has assigned a permanent and product-specific J-code (J2781) for SYFOVRE® (pegcetacoplan injection), the first-ever treatment for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration. The J-code for SYFOVRE will become effective on October 1, 2023. "Until SYFOVRE, patients had nothing to slow the progression of this relentless and irreversible disease,” said Adam Townsend, chief commercial officer, Apellis. “The permanent J-code is a significant milestone that will help ensure accurate and efficient reimbursement of SYFOVRE in all treatment settings, building on our goal of bringing this important treatment to GA patients in need.” J-codes are permanent reimbursement codes used by government payers and commercial insurers to facilitate billing of Medicare Part B treatments, which must be administered by a healthcare professional. J-codes simplify and streamline the billing and reimbursement processes, allowing for efficient claims processing. The permanent J-code has been published by CMS here. About Geographic Atrophy (GA) Geographic atrophy (GA) is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration and a leading cause of blindness worldwide, impacting more than one million Americans and five million people worldwide.1,2 It is a progressive and irreversible disease caused by the growth of lesions, which destroy the retinal cells responsible for vision. The vision loss caused by GA severely impairs independence and quality of life by making it difficult to participate in daily activities. On average, it takes only 2.5 years for GA lesions to start impacting the fovea, which is responsible for central vision.3 About SYFOVRE® (pegcetacoplan injection) SYFOVRE® (pegcetacoplan injection) is the first-ever treatment for geographic atrophy (GA). By targeting C3, SYFOVRE is designed to provide comprehensive control of the complement cascade, part of the body’s immune system. SYFOVRE is approved in the United States for the treatment of GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration. U.S. Important Safety Information for SYFOVRE® (pegcetacoplan injection) CONTRAINDICATIONS SYFOVRE is contraindicated in patients with ocular or periocular infections, and in patients with active intraocular inflammation WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Endophthalmitis and Retinal Detachments Intravitreal injections, including those with SYFOVRE, may be associated with endophthalmitis and retinal detachments. Proper aseptic injection technique must always be used when administering SYFOVRE to minimize the risk of endophthalmitis. Patients should be instructed to report any symptoms suggestive of endophthalmitis or retinal detachment without delay and should be managed appropriately. Neovascular AMD In clinical trials, use of SYFOVRE was associated with increased rates of neovascular (wet) AMD or choroidal neovascularization (12% when administered monthly, 7% when administered every other month and 3% in the control group) by Month 24. Patients receiving SYFOVRE should be monitored for signs of neovascular AMD. In case anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (anti-VEGF) is required, it should be given separately from SYFOVRE administration. Intraocular Inflammation In clinical trials, use of SYFOVRE was associated with episodes of intraocular inflammation including: vitritis, vitreal cells, iridocyclitis, uveitis, anterior chamber cells, iritis, and anterior chamber flare. After inflammation resolves, patients may resume treatment with SYFOVRE. Increased Intraocular Pressure Acute increase in IOP may occur within minutes of any intravitreal injection, including with SYFOVRE. Perfusion of the optic nerve head should be monitored following the injection and managed as needed. ADVERSE REACTIONS Most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥5%) are ocular discomfort, neovascular age-related macular degeneration, vitreous floaters, conjunctival hemorrhage. Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information for more information. About Apellis Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company that combines courageous science and compassion to develop life-changing therapies for some of the most challenging diseases patients face. We ushered in the first new class of complement medicine in 15 years and now have two approved medicines targeting C3. These include the first-ever therapy for geographic atrophy, a leading cause of blindness around the world. With nearly a dozen clinical and pre-clinical programs underway, we believe we have only begun to unlock the potential of targeting C3 across many serious diseases. For more information, please visit or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Apellis Forward-Looking Statement Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of Apellis’ Annual Report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 21, 2023 and the risks described in other filings that Apellis may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Apellis specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Media Contact: Lissa Pavluk media@apellis.com 617.977.6764 Investor Contact: Meredith Kaya meredith.kaya@apellis.com 617.599.8178 1 Rudnicka AR, Jarrar Z, Wormald R, et al. Age and gender variations in age-related macular degeneration prevalence in populations of European ancestry: a meta analysis. Ophthalmology 2012;119:571–580. 2 Wong WL, Su X, Li X, et al. Global prevalence of age-related macular degeneration and disease burden projection for 2020 and 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health 2014;2:e106–116. 3 Lindblad AS, et al, and AREDS Research Group. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(9):1168-1174.