Welcome to Partnology’s Biotech Leader Spotlight Series, where we highlight the remarkable accomplishments and visionary leadership of biotech industry pioneers. This series is about showcasing the groundbreaking strides made by exceptional leaders who have transformed scientific possibilities into tangible realities. Through insightful interviews, we invite you to join us in following the inspiring journeys of these trailblazers who continue to shape the landscape of the biotech industry. This week we are recognizing:
Michael Howell, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Head of Translational Science
Dr. Michael Howell currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer & Head of Translational Science at Zura Bio. He is also the Founder of Mountaineer Biosciences and Co-Founder of Galileo Biosystems. He is an immunologist with more than 20 years of experience in the government, academia, and the biopharma/biotech sectors. Prior to joining Zura Bio, Dr. Howell was a faculty member at National Jewish Health and held increasing positions of responsibility at Boehringer Ingelheim, MedImmune / AstraZeneca, Incyte Corporation, and DermTech. He has previously led research and development teams dedicated to the discovery of novel therapies and the integration of novel biomarker approaches into clinical development. His efforts have led to the approval of multiple therapies, novel diagnostic approaches to patient treatment, and have been highlighted in more than 60 publications and numerous patents. He received his Ph.D. in Immunology from West Virginia University and completed his post-doctoral training at National Jewish Health.
Can you give me a summary of your career in your own words, noting some of the most pivotal moments or decisions in your career?
As a graduate student, I had the unique opportunity to do my research in the Health Effects Laboratory Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health where our lab focused on investigating the mechanisms underlying occupationally induced skin and lung disorders. Our research included allergic disorders, such as latex allergy, which prompted me to join National Jewish Health initially as a postdoctoral fellow and then as a faculty member in the Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. In collaboration with Donald Leung, we investigated the immunological understanding of allergic disorders using translational research. During my tenure, we advanced our understanding of key mechanisms driving atopic dermatitis and focused on improving the lives of patients. I ended up leaving National Jewish after almost nine years to join the pharmaceutical industry and make novel therapies for patients.
After leaving National Jewish, I joined Boehringer Ingelheim as a Principal Scientist where I led a team in preclinical drug discovery for inflammatory diseases. At BI, my team was responsible for the preclinical characterization of novel small molecules and biologics including Skyrizi and spesolimab, where I’m also one of the co-inventors.
After advancing those programs at Boehringer, I then took a role as the Senior Director of Biomarker and Discovery Research at the Immune Tolerance Network. At the ITN, we leveraged our understanding of the immune system to outline novel therapeutic approaches aimed at resetting the immune system. One of the highlights from my time at the ITN was a trial using stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple sclerosis. Several patients in that trial experienced a significant benefit with no relapse or remittance!
I then joined MedImmune as a Translational lead for multiple programs in the Inflammation and Immunology space including tralokinumab, tezepelumab, and others. Over a period of 3 years, our teams advanced several programs from preclinical to various stages of clinical development. It was also during this time that I joined several business development discussions to support the licensing of our programs.
At this time, I was recruited by Incyte Corporation to help build an inflammation and immunology franchise. Over the next 4 years, our team reviewed the extensive small molecule pipeline from Incyte and ultimately advanced several novel programs into clinical studies. This included the advancement of povorcitinib (JAK1) into hidradenitis suppurativa and parsaclisib (PI3Kd) into autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Additionally, this team advanced topical ruxolitinib (Opzelura) leading to its approval in atopic dermatitis and vitiligo.
While at Incyte, I had the unique opportunity to become a scientific advisor for several early stage scientific companies. Through this opportunity, I partnered with the leadership from Sirenas to interpret data generated from their platform and we co-founded Galileo Biosystems, a pre-clinical biotech company focused on the development of novel aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulators for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Additionally, I engaged with the leadership of DermTech and ultimately became their Chief Scientific Officer in the summer of 2020 to lead the development of novel diagnostic assays focused on personalizing medicine for dermatology.
In 2022, I became a senior scientific advisor for ZuraBio and partnered with the team as we performed due diligence on several assets. Ultimately, I was appointed as the Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Translational Sciences for Zura Bio in April of this year.
Can you tell me more about ZuraBio and the work you’re doing there?
In early 2022, I was contacted by JATT acquisition group and Someit Sidhu to do due diligence on a potential asset since I previously led translational research on a similar pathway. After our review, Zura Bio in-licenced an anti-IL-7 receptor alpha monoclonal antibody from Pfizer to advance the therapy in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Later in 2022 we were given the opportunity to review another potential asset and after an extensive due-diligence, Zura Bio in-licensed torudokimab, an anti-IL-33 monoclonal antibody, from Elil Lilly. In March 2023, Zura Bio transitioned from a private company to a publicly traded entity through a de-SPAC and is now listed on the NASDAQ as ZURA. Finally, in April of 2023, Zura simultaneously completed a fundraise and the in-licensing of a novel dual-antagonist (tibulizumab) that targets both IL-17 and BAFF.
Currently, Zura Bio has three clinical stage assets which have all completed their phase 1 clinical trials. We’re currently advancing ZB-168, our anti-IL-7 receptor alpha, into a Phase 2 clinical trial for alopecia areata where we believe it will disrupt the T cell-mediated destruction of the hair follicle. We’re additionally advancing our dual-antagonist in systemic sclerosis as well as hidradenitis suppurativa. Despite advances in our understanding, both diseases still have a significant unmet medical need and a growing body of evidence delineating a important role for both IL-17 and BAFF.
What are some of your proudest professional accomplishments?
I have been very fortunate in my career and have been involved in several successful programs. This includes being involved in the approval of multiple therapies including Opzelura (ruxolitinib), Jakafi (ruxolitinib), Adbry/Adtralza (tralokinumab), Tezpire (tezepelumab), Skyrizi (rizankizumab), Spevigo (spesolimab), and others; novel diagnostic approaches to patient treatment, and more than 60 peer peer-reviewed publications and reviews on immunologic mechanisms.
With rapid advancements in areas like gene editing, personalized medicine, and synthetic biology, what do you see as the most promising technologies in biotech over the next 10 years?
I truly believe that integrating more personalized approaches in drug development has the greatest promise for patients. Over the past decade or so, we’ve made significant advances in genomic sequencing and proteomic analysis. The combination of big data with an improved understanding of the heterogeneity within diseases has aided in the development of new therapies and has identified patient subsets which may respond to different therapeutic approaches. So given the health burden within the United States, I think that one of the greatest opportunities to improve the overall success rate within a particular disease area is to use the tools at our disposal to make medicine more personalized.
What companies and innovations are you following right now, what do you find most exciting or disruptive?
Obviously I believe Zura Bio has an exciting opportunity to change the paradigm in a variety of diseases. Beyond Zura, I think there are a lot of companies leveraging their innovative approaches to novel treatments. This includes a growing number of companies that are using a combination of patient information, big data, and artificial intelligence to drive the identification of both new targets and new therapies. Additionally, I’ve been following the progression of Cabaletta Bio which is expanding the approach of CAR-T therapies beyond oncology and into autoimmune conditions. Finally, I think that we’re learning more about the potential for stem cells and exosomes in treating diseases. This has the potential to be an incredibly exciting area as we see their use in diseases with significant unmet need and the lack of available treatments.
With the experience and insights you have gained, what advice would you give to young people aspiring to work in the biotech industry?
Mentorship is incredibly important to me and I believe it’s important to support the next generation of scientists as much as we possibly can. Whether speaking with a high school student, graduate student, post doctoral fellow or junior faculty member, I’ve provided one consistent piece of advice to those willing to listen…network whenever you can! By networking with others, you’ll learn more about others, their experiences, and how you can learn from one another. You never know when that network will come in handy as you progress through your career.
Another thing I love to do is challenge people to push themselves beyond their comfort zone. We are all capable of pushing ourselves further and you’ll never know what you’re fully capable of accomplishing until you push yourself. I personally try to identify both the strengths and opportunities for development in my team members. This allows us to identify areas where we can leverage their strengths, but also push them to develop new skills that will help them throughout their career. So don’t be afraid to take on a challenge!
Finally, life can be both incredibly rewarding and phenomenally frustrating, so the greatest message to anyone is to never give up! No matter what we’re going through in life, it’s all a learning experience. Some of our greatest life lessons come during the times of greatest tribulation and every day has the opportunity to train you for something else. I personally approach each day as a new experience to learn and truly believe that I’ll never stop learning. I’ve experienced my fair share of failures, but honestly, I believe we learn more through those experiences and it makes it even more rewarding when we finally succeed.
Where can we find you when you are out of the lab/ office? What are your hobbies?
At this point, most of my free time is spent as an Uber driver for my kids going from one activity to another. Beyond that, I love the mountains and am an avid snowboarder. I started snowboarding in college and quickly got hooked, ultimately becoming a snowboard instructor at the Wisp Resort in Deep Creek Lake while I was a graduate student and then an instructor at Winter Park in Colorado while I was a postdoctoral fellow. I’ve played soccer most of life, including college. Soccer is a great way to learn about teamwork and to realize that you can’t accomplish everything on your own. I’ve also started really getting into golf, which is probably one of the most frustrating games I’ve ever played in my entire life. But it teaches you how little things within yourself can affect a game and can affect your performance. So from a self reflection point of view, it gives you a great opportunity to start thinking about how little things can make a big difference.
