Antag Therapeutics Elects Keith Leonard as Chairman of its Board of Directors
Antag Therapeutics Elects Keith Leonard as Chairman of its Board of Directors
Copenhagen, Denmark, 09 June 2026 – Antag Therapeutics (“Antag” or “the Company”), advancing personalized and flexible obesity treatment through GIP receptor antagonism, today announces the election of Keith Leonard as Chairman of its Board of Directors.
Keith is a highly experienced global biopharmaceutical executive with 30 years of industry experience leading companies and driving commercial strategies. Throughout his career, Keith has held many leadership positions including Chairman and CEO of Unity Biotechnology, and co-founder, President and CEO of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, from its founding in 2005 through its acquisition by Allergan plc in 2015.
Prior to Kythera, Keith spent 13 years at Amgen, serving as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Amgen Europe, where he oversaw commercial operations across 28 countries. During his tenure at Amgen, he ran the company’s manufacturing operations in Europe, established Amgen’s presence in inflammation, served as head of information management, and held leadership roles in sales and marketing, engineering, operations, and finance. Keith is currently Chairman of Arcutis Biotherapeutics and sits on the board of Intuitive Surgical.
Keith began his career as an officer in the Civil Engineer Corps of the U.S. Navy. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, holds a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.
“Keith’s election comes at a pivotal time for Antag,” said Philip Just Larsen, Chief Executive Officer of Antag Therapeutics. “His deep expertise in leading companies and providing strategic road maps for first-in-class therapies, will be instrumental as we advance AT7687, our Glucose Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide Receptor (GIPR) antagonist into Phase 2 trials.”
Keith Leonard, Chairman of Antag said: “It is an exciting time to be joining Antag in the next chapter of the company’s journey as it prepares to initiate the Phase 2a trial of AT7687. AT7687 is strongly positioned to support next generation treatment paradigms for obesity and cardiometabolic disease. The progress this team has made is truly impressive, and I look forward to contributing to the next phase of growth.”
-ENDS-
About Antag Therapeutics
Antag Therapeutics is a biotechnology company redefining obesity treatment with GIPR antagonism. Antag’s vision is that all people living with obesity, diabetes and overweight have a personal treatment option, that goes beyond weight loss to deliver long-term sustained health, without having to compromise on tolerability.
Based on decades of research by GLP-1 pioneer Professor Jens Juul Holst, Antag’s lead molecule, AT7687, is specifically designed to target and deactivate the GIP receptor, a genetically-validated pathway that contributes to fat storage, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction. In pre-clinical studies, AT7687 exhibits an excellent tolerability profile, with no need for titration, and improvements across a range of biomarkers related to better cardiovascular outcomes, healthier body composition.
Moreover, AT7687 is a peptide specifically engineered and selected for its straightforward and versatile formulation properties, uniquely positioning Antag to develop AT7687 as monotherapy or as co-formulation with other obesity therapies.
This mechanistically distinct approach suggests a paradigm shift in the treatment of obesity, enabling a new kind of treatment – designed to support more personal, adaptable care – delivering healthier, long-term outcomes for all people with overweight or obesity. The AT7687 Phase 1 clinical trial has been successfully completed, and the Phase 2a study is expected to start in mid-2026.
Antag Therapeutics has raised €80 million in a Series A financing led by Versant Ventures with participation from Novo Holdings, SR One, Dawn Biopharma, Pictet, Longview Ventures, and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO).
Learn more at www.antagtx.com.
Contacts
Antag Therapeutics
Philip Just Larsen
Chief Executive Officer, Antag Therapeutics
Email: pjl@antagtx.com
Antag Therapeutics Media Contacts
ICR Healthcare
Amber Fennell, Angela Gray, Evi Useh
Email: antagtx@icrhealthcare.com
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