The US-Danish biotech company hires a head of development from Novo Nordisk and a chief technology officer from the Gilead sphere, moving closer to the US obesity and capital markets.
Jacob Jeppesen is one of the former Novo profiles at Alveus Therapeutics, which is now strengthening its team with yet another former Novo Nordisk executive.
The US-Danish biotech company Alveus Therapeutics is expanding its management team and opening an office in Boston. The company develops obesity treatments and has already raised over DKK 1.2bn (USD 186m) in Series A funding.
Alveus is hiring John Stubenrauch as chief technology officer and Patrick Garibay as chief development officer. At the same time, the company is expanding beyond its Philadelphia and Copenhagen locations with a new office in Boston, Massachusetts.
“John has built and led manufacturing and quality organizations behind several approved treatments, and Patrick has spearheaded some of the industry’s most important programs in obesity and diabetes,” says CEO Raj Kannan in a press release, adding:
“The combination of solid experience in clinical development and operational execution will strengthen Alveus as we develop our pipeline.”
Novo DNA in the development leadership role
With the hiring of Patrick Garibay, Alveus is bringing in yet another high-profile executive from the Novo Nordisk sphere. Garibay has been with Novo since 1996, most recently as project vice president responsible for Phase 3 candidates in the areas of obesity and diabetes.
He previously led protein and peptide chemistry and played a central role in the development of oral GLP-1 technology and other peptide-based therapies, guiding them from early discovery through clinical development.
He thus joins the ranks of Novo executives associated with Alveus: Jacob Jeppesen, a Dane and former head of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular research at Novo Nordisk, serves as chief scientific officer with responsibility for research and development, and Novo Holdings invested in an expanded Series A round earlier this year.
Novo Holdings’ venture partner, Mads Peter Hemmingsen, previously explained the investment to MedWatch by noting that there is “potential in the combination of their promising molecules and the extremely strong management team.”
Aims to deliver a Phase 3-ready obesity candidate
Alveus launched in early 2026 with approximately DKK 1bn in funding and has since expanded its Series A round to USD 197m, with New Rhein Healthcare Investors, Andera Partners, Omega Funds, Jeito Capital, and Novo Holdings among its shareholders.
The funds will primarily be used to advance the lead candidate, ALV-100, through Phase 1b/2 and prepare the program for Phase 3 in the second half of 2027.
ALV-100 is licensed from the Chinese company Gmax and is being developed as an injectable treatment to be administered monthly to achieve weight loss and then only quarterly or less frequently to maintain it – a dosing regimen that Raj Kannan has previously highlighted as Alveus’s key differentiator.
At the same time, the company is building a portfolio of its own amylin-based candidates, including ALV-200, with a focus on sustained and “healthy” weight loss with improved tolerability.
Boston as a stepping stone
With its new office in Boston, Alveus is positioning itself in the heart of one of the world’s most competitive life science hubs – and closer to talent, partners, and investors alike.
“The opening of our office in Boston places us at the center of one of the world’s leading life science hubs and underscores our ambition to build a strong team,” says Raj Kannan.
Alveus continues its research and development activities in Copenhagen, where Jacob Jeppesen leads a “lean, high-impact research team.”
The company is thus positioning itself as a Danish-US obesity company that aims to challenge Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in a market that analysts estimate could reach up to USD 150bn by the early 2030s.
Author: Albert Rønning-Andersson