Recludix Pharma Announces Strengthening of Leadership Team, Including Promotion of Dr. Brian Hodous to Chief Scientific Officer
--Brian Hodous, Ph.D., promoted to chief scientific officer
-- Vivek Kadambi, Ph.D., joins Recludix as senior vice president of non-clinical sciences and CMC
-- Kristin Polsenski, M.B.A., expands role to include chief of staff to the CEO
SAN DIEGO, July 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recludix Pharma, a leader in the discovery of inhibitors of challenging targets for inflammatory disease, today announced that the company has strengthened its leadership team through: the promotion of Brian Hodous, Ph.D., to chief scientific officer; the appointment of Vivek (Vic) Kadambi, Ph.D., as senior vice president of non-clinical sciences and CMC; and the role expansion of Kristin Polsenski, M.B.A., to include chief of staff to the CEO, in addition to her role as vice president of portfolio, program and alliance management.
“We are fortunate to have assembled a world-class leadership team with deep expertise in translating scientific innovation through clinical development and into the hands of patients who need it most, and I’m excited to continue strengthening this exceptional team,” said Nancy Whiting, Pharm.D., president and chief executive officer of Recludix. “Brian, a co-founder of the company, played a pivotal role in shaping our highly differentiated chemistry platform. His scientific vision has been instrumental in enabling the development of our potent SH2 inhibitors, successfully targeting a class once considered undruggable. Brian’s experience building inhibitor platforms for novel targets is unparalleled, having previously co-led the advancement of Blueprint Medicines' proprietary kinase inhibitor library, leading to his co-invention of products that have been commercialized or are under clinical development. We are also thrilled to welcome Vic to head our non-clinical sciences and CMC departments. With an impressive track record of advancing multiple first-in-class clinical and marketed therapies during his tenures at IDRx, Vertex, Blueprint, and Millennium/Takeda, Vic brings invaluable translational expertise to this key leadership role. Lastly, Kristin will strengthen our operational excellence as she brings extensive organizational expertise from her previous roles at Seagen and Zymeworks.”
“I am incredibly excited to work closely with these accomplished executives as we advance towards being a clinical-stage company,” added Ajay Nirula, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and head of R&D. “With such experienced drug developers leading scientific, operational, and development functions, we are exceptionally well positioned to advance our programs with focus and impact. I’m delighted to have Brian and Vic assume key responsibilities on my R&D leadership team.”
Dr. Hodous, chief scientific officer, noted, “It has been deeply gratifying to witness the evolution of what began as a formidable scientific challenge—targeting SH2 domains as a therapeutic strategy—into a successful platform with the potential to transform disease treatment. Our efforts have culminated in the development of multiple first-in-class oral inhibitors against well-validated disease targets, underscoring the remarkable capabilities of this approach. Looking ahead, I am energized by the opportunity to continue innovating with our exceptional scientific team. With over 120 SH2 domain-containing proteins in the human proteome and other currently ‘undruggable’ targets to explore, the opportunities to help patients remain vast and full of promise.”
Brian Hodous, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer
Brian Hodous, Ph.D., is a co-founder of Recludix Pharma and served as the senior vice president of chemistry prior to his appointment as chief scientific officer. Dr. Hodous has over 20 years of experience in drug discovery and preclinical development. He spent his career at several large and start-up biotechnology companies, where he contributed to the discovery of multiple clinical molecules and one approved drug, set company strategy and implemented initiatives to foster team/culture building. Prior to Recludix, Dr. Hodous was the head of chemistry at Accent Therapeutics, responsible for drug discovery strategy and chemical matter identification/optimization in the emerging area of RNA-modifying protein biology. From 2011 to 2017, Dr. Hodous was at Blueprint Medicines (under agreement to be acquired by Sanofi) where he co-led the advancement of their proprietary kinase inhibitor library strategy and design efforts. During his tenure at Blueprint, he was a co-inventor and co-program lead for: AYVAKIT®, a potent, selective KIT/PDGFR inhibitor approved for the treatment of patients with PDGFRa mutant GIST and patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis; Fisogatinib, a potent, selective, covalent inhibitor of FGFR4 in clinical trials for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma; and IPN60130 (out-licensed to Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, formerly BLU-782), a potent, selective inhibitor of ALK2 kinase that is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with the rare genetic disease, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. While at EMD Serono, he co-invented and co-led the development of evobrutinib, a highly potent, selective, covalent BTK inhibitor. From 2002-2008, Dr. Hodous was at Amgen where he co-invented AMG-900, a pan-Aurora kinase inhibitor that went into Phase 1 clinical trials for oncology indications. Dr. Hodous holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from MIT.
Vivek Kadambi, Ph.D., Sr. Vice President of Non-Clinical Sciences and CMC
Vivek Kadambi, Ph.D., is an experienced pharmaceutical executive with more than 25 years of demonstrated results in all stages of drug discovery, development, registration and post marketing. Over his career, Dr. Kadambi was involved in numerous projects, including multiple first-in-class INDs, as well as the registration of multiple products, including ADCETRIS®, ENTYVIO®, AYVAKIT® and GAVRETO®. Dr. Kadambi previously served as the chief product development officer at IDRx, which was acquired by GSK in February 2025. Prior to this, he was the senior vice president of Preclinical Sciences at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. From 2014 to 2020, Dr. Kadambi held the position of senior vice president of Quantitative Pharmacology and Drug Safety at Blueprint Medicines (under agreement to be acquired by Sanofi). Dr. Kadambi also served as the vice president of drug safety evaluation at Millennium/Takeda. He was the recipient of the American Heart Association Fellowship, Ohio affiliate and the Young Investigator Award from the Heart Failure Society of America. He is the past chair of DruSafe, part of the International Consortium for Innovation and Quality in Pharmaceutical Development, and co-founder of the Boston Area Pharm/Tox group. Dr. Kadambi holds a Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Physiology and Pharmacology and a Post Doctoral degree in Cardiovascular Medicine from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Kristin Polsenski, M.B.A., Vice President of Portfolio, Program and Alliance Management; Chief of Staff to the CEO
Kristin Polsenski, M.B.A., has over 20 years of experience heading portfolio, program and alliance management and executing clinical trial operations. Prior to joining Recludix, Ms. Polsenski was an independent consultant supporting multiple biotech companies in designing, developing and executing their program and alliance management activities, as well as clinical development programs. Previously, Ms. Polsenski was the senior director and head of program and alliance management at Zymeworks where she led the diligence for the 2022 ZIIHERA® (zanidatamab-hrii) licensing deal with Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Zymeworks, Ms. Polsenski oversaw the portfolio of clinical studies of ADCETRIS® (brentuximab vedotin) for Seagen (formally Seattle Genetics), playing an integral part in clinical program strategy, development and execution. She has held clinical and research roles at other top-tier drug development organizations, including Gilead Sciences, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Amgen. Ms. Polsenski obtained her B.S. in Biology from the University of Maryland, College Park and her M.B.A. from San Fransico State University.
About Recludix
Recludix is a leader in developing platform approaches to discover potent and selective inhibitors of challenging protein targets. The company’s management team includes industry veterans with a track record of success, including former leaders of Seagen, Blueprint Medicines, and Lilly. Recludix has developed a unique drug discovery platform that integrates custom generated DNA-encoded libraries, massively parallel determination of structure activity relationships, and a proprietary screening tool to ensure selectivity. The company is employing this approach first in the development of SH2 domain inhibitors. Recludix’s most advanced program is focused on STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) where abnormal activation is found in inflammatory diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic spontaneous urticaria. The company has a strategic collaboration with Sanofi for the development and commercialization of a STAT6 inhibitor, and it is planning to submit an Investigational New Drug application for its STAT6 inhibitor REX-8756 in 2025. Recludix is also advancing a potential first-in-class BTK SH2 domain inhibitor for B cell or mast cell-driven I&I diseases, as well as additional programs. Recludix was named a 2024 Fierce 15 biotech company. For more information, please visit the company’s website at https://recludixpharma.com.
Recludix Contacts
Matt Caldemeyer
Chief Business Officer
mcaldemeyer@recludix.com
Alexandra Santos
asantos@wheelhouselsa.com
Aljanae Reynolds
areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com
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