Longboard Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
We are focused on developing novel, transformative medicines for neurological diseases, with an initial focus on rare diseases.
Our Story
Longboard Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel, transformative medicines for neurological diseases, with an initial focus on rare diseases.
Longboard was formed in January 2020 by Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to advance a portfolio of centrally-acting product candidates designed to be highly selective for specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs have been proven to be the most successful class of druggable targets in the human genome and make up 50-60% of all druggable targets in the body. Longboard’s small molecule product candidates were discovered out of the same world-class GPCR research platform at Arena that represents a culmination of more than 20 years of drug development and optimization.
Longboard is evaluating bexicaserin (LP352), an oral, centrally acting, next-generation 5-hydroxytryptamine 2C
Longboard is evaluating bexicaserin (LP352), an oral, centrally acting, next-generation 5-hydroxytryptamine 2c (5-HT2c) receptor superagonist, with no detected activity at the 5-HT2B and 5-HT2A receptor subtypes, in development for the potential treatment of seizures associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs). DEEs refer to a group of severe heterogeneous epilepsies characterized by drug resistant seizures and significant developmental delay.
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(5-HT2C) receptor superagonist, with negligible observed impact on 5-HT2B and 5-HT2A receptor subtypes. Bexicaserin is in development for the potential treatment of seizures associated with Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies (DEEs). DEEs refer to a group of severe heterogeneous epilepsies that are characterized by drug resistant seizures and significant developmental delay.
Longboard is also evaluating LP659, an oral, centrally acting, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor subtypes 1 and 5 modulator, in development for the potential treatment of rare neuroinflammatory conditions. Longboard holds rights to other product candidates, including LP143 and nelotanserin, through a License Agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Management
Kevin Lind
Mr. Lind has over 20 years of experience in the life sciences industry. He has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2020 and as a member of our Board since our inception in January 2020. Prior to joining Longboard Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Lind served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Arena Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer) from June 2016 to February 2020. Prior to Arena, Mr. Lind was a Principal focused on healthcare at TPG Special Situations Partners, a global investment firm, from January 2009 to June 2016. Mr. Lind was a member of the TPG Pharma Partners effort at TPG-Axon, a global investment firm, from 2006 to 2008. He served in various capacities as a healthcare investment banker at Lehman Brothers, Inc., a former global financial services firm, from 1998 to 2002 and 2004 to 2006. Mr. Lind received a B.S. from Stanford University in Biological Sciences and an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Randall Kaye, M.D.
Dr. Randall Kaye has over 30 years of experience in the medical field and has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer since March 2022. Prior to joining Longboard, Dr. Kaye was Chief Medical Officer of Neurana Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of neuromuscular conditions. Prior to Neurana, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Click Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in digital healthcare innovation, where he was involved in the development of software as a prescription medical treatment for a number of chronic debilitating conditions. Prior to Click, he served as Chief Scientific Officer of SSI Strategy Holdings LLC, where he oversaw clinical development, medical affairs and pharmacovigiliance. In conjunction with his role at SSI Strategy, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kaye held the positions of Chief Medical Officer of Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., and Vice President, Medical Affairs of Scios Inc. and InterMune, Inc. He also held clinical development and medical affairs positions at Pfizer Inc. Dr. Kaye earned an M.D., M.P.H. and B.S. at George Washington University, completed his pediatric training at UMASS Medical Center and finished his academic training as a postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Brandi Roberts
Ms. Roberts has more than 25 years of public accounting and finance experience, including 22 years at publicly traded pharmaceutical, medical technology, and life science companies. Previously, Ms. Roberts served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE: LCTX) from January 2019 to January 2021. Prior to joining Lineage, she served as Chief Financial Officer of REVA Medical, Inc. Ms. Roberts previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Mast Therapeutics, Inc. from January 2013 to April 2017, and as its Senior Vice President, Finance, from March 2011 to January 2013. Previously, she held senior positions at Alphatec Spine, Inc., Artes Medical, Inc., Stratagene Corporation, and Pfizer, Inc. Ms. Roberts currently serves on the board of TFF Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TFFP). She is a member of the steering committee for the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Bioscience Financial Officers (ABFO), and served as Chair from 2007 to 2024. Ms. Roberts is a certified public accountant with the State of California and received her B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Arizona and her M.B.A. from the University of San Diego.
Steven Spector
Mr. Spector has 30 years of legal and business experience, with over 20 years in the life sciences industry. Most recently, he served as part-time Head of Business Development or General Counsel for several companies, including Longboard, Dynavax Technologies (Nasdaq: DVAX) and Galecto, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLTO). Prior to this, Mr. Spector served as General Counsel of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Pfizer) for nearly twenty years, from October 2001 to March 2020. He is a former President and long-time board of director of the Association of Corporate Counsel, San Diego, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego School of Law. Prior to Arena, Mr. Spector was a Partner with the international law firm of Morgan Lewis, where he worked from 1991 to October 2001. Mr. Spector holds a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Spector and his family are active members in the San Diego community, including supporting the ALS Association, Sanford Burnham Prebys, and other non-profit organizations focused on finding new approaches and treatments for rare neurological conditions.
Chad Orevillo
Mr. Orevillo has over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical clinical development and operations. Prior to joining Longboard, Mr. Orevillo served as the Vice President and Head of Clinical Operations of Arena Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer) from April 2017 to March 2020. Prior to Arena, Mr. Orevillo served as the Vice President, Head of Clinical Development and Medical Communications and the Head of Clinical Operations at Pearl Therapeutics, Inc., a venture-funded biotech subsequently acquired and operated as a subsidiary of AstraZeneca since 2013. Mr. Orevillo joined Pearl in 2008 and was responsible for building and leading the clinical development and operations teams which were responsible for the Bevespi and Breztri Aerosphere development programs. Previously, Mr. Orevillo worked in various clinical development and operations roles at Novartis from 2003 to 2008, Pharmacia/Pfizer from 2000 to 2003, Merck from 1995 to 2000 and Pharmaco-LSR from 1993 to 1995. Mr. Orevillo has an M.P.H. from Tulane University and B.S. from William Paterson University. He is a US Marine Corps veteran of Operation Desert Storm.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Executive Vice President, Head of Business Development and General Counsel
Executive Vice President, Head of Operations
Board of Directors
Paul Sekhri
Paul J. Sekhri has served as a member of our Board since December 2020, and as Chair of our Board since February 2021. Mr. Sekhri has over 35 years of experience in the life science industry. His experience encompasses senior management in large corporate pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as private equity and venture capital. Mr. Sekhri has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of vTv Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded clinical trial stage biotechnology company, since August 2022. Previously he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of eGenesis, Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company, from January 2019 to April 2022, where he remains on the board of directors. Prior to joining eGenesis, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Lycera Corp., a private biopharmaceutical company, from February 2015 to December 2018. Prior to this, he served as Senior Vice President, Integrated Care for Sanofi from 2014 to 2015. Previously, he served as Chief Strategy Officer and Group Executive Vice President, Global Business Development for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. from 2013 to 2014. Prior to joining Teva, he spent five years, from 2009 to 2013, as Operating Partner and Head of the Biotechnology Operating Group at TPG Biotech, the life sciences venture capital arm of TPG Capital. From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Sekhri was Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to founding Cerimon, Mr. Sekhri was President and Chief Business Officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously, Mr. Sekhri spent five years at Novartis as Senior Vice President, and Head of Global Search and Evaluation, Business Development and Licensing for Novartis Pharma AG. Mr. Sekhri is a member of the board of directors of Veeva Systems Inc. and a member of the board of directors and the Chairman of the Board of Compugen Ltd. During the past five years, Mr. Sekhri was also a member of the board of directors of Pharming Group N.V., Ipsen, S.A., Axcella Healthcare Inc., BiomX Inc. and Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc. Additionally, he is on the Board of Directors of The Metropolitan Opera, The English Concert in America and was a member of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Hall. He sits on the Board of the Knights Ensemble, and most recently was nominated as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Young Concert Artists, Inc. Mr. Sekhri completed graduate work in Neuroscience at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he also received his B.S. in Zoology.
Vincent Aurentz
Vincent E. Aurentz has served as a member of our Board since February 2020. Mr. Aurentz most recently served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from August 2016 through its acquisition by Pfizer Inc. in March 2022. Mr. Aurentz has over 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceuticals industry. Previously, he was the Chief Business Officer of Epirus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from November 2015 to July 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Aurentz served as President and was a member of the board of directors of HemoShear Therapeutics, LLC from July 2013 to November 2015, where he oversaw the scientific platform, research and development activities, commercial and business development efforts including collaborations with global organizations such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Janssen research and development and Children’s National Health System. Prior to joining HemoShear, Mr. Aurentz was Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Management Board at Merck KGaA (Merck Serono S.A.) where he directed research and development programs, portfolio strategy and headed all deal activity and venture investments. Mr. Aurentz is a former Executive Vice President at Quintiles and a Co-founder and Managing Director of a venture capital and advisory business. He was a partner with CSC Healthcare, the life sciences strategic management consulting division of Computer Sciences Corporation, after starting his career and working for 8 years at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Mr. Aurentz received a B.S. in Mathematics from Villanova University.
Corinne Le Goff, Pharm.D.
Corinne Le Goff, Pharm.D. has served as a member of our Board since March 2021. Dr. Le Goff served as President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Imunon, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMNN) (formerly Celsion Corporation), a fully integrated, clinical stage biotechnology company, from July 2022 to March 2024. Prior to her appointment at Imunon, Dr. Le Goff served as Chief Commercial Officer of Moderna, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from January 2021 through January 2022. Dr. Le Goff previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the U.S. Business Organization at Amgen, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, from March 2019 to January 2021. During her tenure at Amgen, she also served as Senior Vice President of Global Product Strategy from June 2018 to March 2019, and Senior Vice President of the Europe Region from June 2015 to May 2018. Dr. Le Goff worked in the policy community and advocated for innovative, high-quality and affordable healthcare. Dr. Le Goff held various positions within the Roche Group, a multinational healthcare company, including President of Roche’s French affiliate from May 2012 to May 2015. Dr. Le Goff previously served as a member of the board of directors of Euroapi S.A., from April 2022 to January 2023. Dr. Le Goff also served on the board of directors of the Pacific Council on International Policy from October 2019 to December 2020, and CFAO, a trading company, from October 2014 until October 2020, where she served as a member of their Nomination and Compensation Committee, the Sustainable Development Committee and the Audit Committee. Dr. Le Goff received a Pharm. D. from the University Paris V and an M.B.A. in Marketing from La Sorbonne University, France.
Casey Lynch
Casey Lynch has served as a member of our Board since February 2021. Ms. Lynch has served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage private biopharmaceutical company which she co-founded, since September 2022. Ms. Lynch is also the founder of Sonoma Bioventures, an investment and advisory firm, and has served as its Managing Partner since February 2022. She previously co-founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Cortexyme, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, from July 2014 through January 2022, and as Chairman of Cortexyme’s board of directors from November 2018 through January 2022. She was a member of the board of directors of the California Life Science Association, a trade association representing California’s life science industry, from 2019 to 2021. Prior to co-founding Cortexyme, Ms. Lynch co-founded various companies and organizations in the biotechnology industry including Aspira Biosystems, Inc. and NeuroInsights, LLC. She served as Aspira’s co-founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman from 1999 to 2004 and she co-founded NeuroInsights and served as its Managing Director from 2004 to 2015. Ms. Lynch also co-founded Neurotechnology Industry Organization, a non-profit trade association, and served as a board member from March 2005 to September 2018. Ms. Lynch holds a B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.S. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco.
Phillip Schneider
Phillip M. Schneider has served as a member of our Board since December 2020. Most recently, Mr. Schneider held various positions with IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, from 1987 to 2003, including: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1997 to 2003; and Director of Finance and Administration from 1992 to 1997. Prior to that, Mr. Schneider held various management positions at Syntex Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a pharmaceutical company, from 1985 to 1987, and KPMG LLP, an audit and tax advisory firm, from 1982 to 1984, where he attained his CPA license. Mr. Schneider currently serves as a member of the board of directors of ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, since June 2019, and YMCA of San Diego County since 2002. Mr. Schneider previously served as a member of the board of directors at Pfenex Inc. from 2014 until its acquisition by Ligand in 2020, Arena Pharmaceuticals, from 2007 to 2018, Auspex Pharmaceuticals, from 2014 until its acquisition by Teva Pharmaceuticals in 2015, and Gen-Probe, Inc., from 2002 until its acquisition by Hologic Inc. in 2012. Mr. Schneider holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Paul Sekhri
Chairman of the Board
Kevin Lind
President and CEO
Vincent Aurentz
Board Member
Corinne Le Goff, Pharm.D.
Board Member
Casey Lynch
Board Member
Phillip Schneider
Board Member