Klein Hersh Recruits CEO for Newleos Therapeutics
October 27, 2025 – Horsham, PA-based Klein Hersh, a search firm focused on the life sciences and healthcare industries, has assisted in the recruitment of Timothy Noyes as president and chief executive officer of biotechnology company Newleos Therapeutics in Boston, MA. Mr. Noyes succeeds David Donabedian, founding president and CEO of Newleos and executive partner at Longwood Fund, who will continue to serve the company in an advisory capacity. “When we founded Newleos, our mission was to build a leading company dedicated to transforming care for patients with serious psychiatric disorders,” said Christoph Westphal, executive chair of Newleos and founding partner of Longwood Fund. “Tim brings an exceptional track record of company building, fundraising, and advancing innovative therapies through early and late-stage development and commercialization. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead Newleos, advance our clinical programs, and guide the company into its next stage of growth.”
“On behalf of the entire board, I would like to recognize and thank David for his exceptional contributions as the founding president and CEO of Newleos,” continued Dr. Westphal. “David was instrumental in securing high-quality clinical assets from Roche that now comprise Newleos’ clinical pipeline, negotiating the license agreement for these assets, and building a world-class team.”
Mr. Noyes brings to Newleos more than 30 years of experience and a track record of successfully leading biopharmaceutical companies through critical phases of innovation and growth. He most recently served as CEO of Aerovate Therapeutics where, prior to its merger with Jade Biosciences, he guided the company through its successful IPO and advanced its lead clinical program for pulmonary arterial hypertension through a global Phase 2/3 trial. Mr. Noyes previously served as CEO of Proteon Therapeutics where he built a team that successfully completed an IPO and advanced an innovative biologic for blood vessel remodeling from preclinical development through Phase 3 clinical trials.
Earlier in his career, he held several senior leadership roles with GelTex Pharmaceuticals where he led the commercial launch of Renagel for patients with end-stage renal disease. Following the acquisition of GelTex by Genzyme, Mr. Noyes served as president of Genzyme’s renal division and president of GelTex. Mr. Noyes began his career at Merck, serving in commercial roles in the company’s hypertension and heart failure group and managed care division.
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In his new position, Mr. Noyes will play an instrumental role in driving the advancement of Newleos’ pipeline of first-in-class and best-in-class product candidates across multiple high unmet-need mental illnesses, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and substance use disorders.
Pivotal Inflection Point
“I am thrilled to join Newleos as president and CEO,” said Mr. Noyes. “The company is at a pivotal inflection point, translating strong science into clinical momentum across programs that could redefine how anxiety and related disorders are treated. I look forward to working with this talented team to continue building a leading neuropsychiatric company and advancing our mission of delivering next-generation therapies for patients who have long been underserved.”
Newleos Therapeutics is dedicated to providing a new dawn or “eos” for the one in every eight people around the world who are suffering from mental illness. The company’s pipeline was licensed from Roche and focuses on innovative neuropsychiatric mechanisms of action that aim to reduce side effects and improve outcomes compared to the current standard of care.
Established in 1998, Klein Hersh is an executive search firm that partners with clients to deliver executive leaders for global pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare companies as well as operating businesses of PE and VC-backed investments. Noteworthy clients include Akero, Aktis Oncology, Apogee Therapeutics, ArchWell Health, Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Biogen, Capital Rx, ConcertAI, CytoReason, Dispatch, Fairmount, Forbion, Foresite Capital, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Iambic, ITM, Koa Health, LifeMine, LongueVue Capital, Lyric, MacroHealth, McKesson, Moderna, Morningside, Odyssey Therapeutics, Oruka Therapeutics, Pacira Biosciences, Inc., Paragon Therapeutics, Posterity Health, Revolution Medicines, TPG, Transformation Capital, Treeline Biosciences, and Unlearn.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
