Kyverna Therapeutics Welcomes New CEO to Lead Future Growth

Kyverna Therapeutics Inc., a biopharma company pioneering cell therapies for autoimmune diseases, has named Warner Biddle as its new CEO and Board member. Biddle takes over from Peter Maag, Ph.D., who has stepped down from both roles with immediate effect. In addition, Kyverna welcomed Christi Shaw to its Board of Directors, following the departure of Brian Kotzin, M.D., who has chosen to step down.

With over three decades of global expertise in the pharmaceutical industry, Warner Biddle brings a wealth of experience in senior leadership roles spanning multiple products, therapeutic areas, and regions. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Commercial at Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company, where he spearheaded the launch of key products such as Yescarta and Tecartus, and played a crucial role in driving their market expansion. In 2023, Gilead’s Chairman and CEO selected Biddle to serve as interim Head of Kite (CEO), overseeing the company’s research, development, medical affairs, and operational functions.

Before his time at Kite, Biddle spent 10 years at Genentech, leading the Breast/Gynecology, Skin Cancer, and Ophthalmology divisions through multiple successful product launches and extensions, including notable treatments like Kadcyla, Tecentriq, Erivedge, and Lucentis. His earlier career saw him hold leadership positions at Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where he worked across Canada, the UK, and Switzerland. Biddle holds an Honors Degree in Commerce, specializing in Marketing and Statistics, from the University of Saskatchewan.

Biddle stated, "I am excited to join the company at this pivotal stage in its growth and to build on the strong foundation already in place at Kyverna. I have seen firsthand the transformative impact of CAR T therapeutics on patients' lives and am eager to work alongside this team to extend the reach of CAR T therapies to many more patients and bring them the innovations they are waiting for.”

About Christi Shaw, she has over three decades of leadership experience across some of the largest pharmaceutical companies, Christi Shaw has held key executive positions in a wide range of therapeutic fields. Most recently, Shaw was the CEO of Kite, following her role as Senior Vice President at Eli Lilly and President of Lilly Bio-Medicines, where she led the neuroscience and immunology divisions.

Before joining Eli Lilly, Shaw held top leadership roles at Novartis, including U.S. Country Head and President of Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation, as well as North American Head of Novartis Oncology. She began her career in increasingly senior positions at Johnson & Johnson. Shaw currently sits on the boards of Avantor, Beam Therapeutics, and ReAlta Life Sciences, and also advises Cellares and the Iowa State Ivy College of Business. Additionally, she co-founded the More Moments More Memories Foundation, which supports cancer patients and their caregivers. Shaw earned her M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and a B.B.A. in Marketing from Iowa State University.