MedImmune spins out autoimmune play Viela

MedImmune LLC is spinning out six compounds into severe autoimmune disease play Viela Bio Inc. (Gaithersburg, Md.). Bing Yao, who is head of the AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) subsidiary’s Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity (RIA) Innovative Medicines unit, will become CEO of the newco. Jorn Drappa, VP of RIA clinical development, will be Viela's head of R&D and CMO.

Yao told BioCentury that MedImmune had produced more molecules than it could fully develop, and chose to spin out some into a new company to better realize the candidates' potential. He added that Viela's development strategy includes targeting shared pathways in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases to develop drugs in multiple indications...