Mirum Pharmaceuticals today announced the appointment of Chris Peetz as chief executive officer. The company’s former CEO, Mike Grey, will stay on with Mirum in the role of executive chairman of its Board of Directors.

“Chris has made tremendous contributions to Mirum since the company’s founding, and I am confident in his leadership of the team as they rapidly execute on multiple late-stage clinical programs in parallel,” said Mike Grey. “Importantly, Chris has the drug development expertise and passion for helping patients, which is critical when working on rare disease.”

Mirum is planning to advance its lead product candidate, maralixibat, into phase 3 clinical trials this year in Alagille syndrome (ALGS) and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) — conditions with a profound and devastating impact on quality of life for young patients and their families. Untreated, these conditions can lead to liver failure and inflict life-altering symptoms including stunted growth and severe, non-stop itching. Under current standard of care, patients often require a liver transplant and are at higher risk of many serious health issues.

“Mike’s work on this therapy and engagement with the patient community to date has set us on a course for success as we work to bring maralixibat over the finish line to help the many patients and their families who are negatively impacted by cholestatic liver diseases,” added Mr. Peetz. “It is a privilege to be at the helm of a company that has the potential to improve patient lives.”

Prior to his advancement to CEO, Chris was appointed as Mirum’s president and a board member at the company’s founding last year, bringing deep experience in therapeutic development and commercialization. Previously, Chris served as chief financial officer and head of corporate development at Tobira Therapeutics, a leading developer of therapeutics to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). While at Tobira, he led the company’s efforts to become a public company and expand its pipeline through partnerships and in-licensing, as well as the sale of the company to Allergan for up to approximately $1.7 billion. Prior to Tobira, Chris held business leadership roles at Jennerex Biotherapeutics, Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Abgenix. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

About Mirum Pharmaceuticals

Mirum Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a clinical-stage therapeutics company developing a novel approach for treating cholestatic liver diseases, with an immediate focus on rare pediatric conditions. The company’s lead product candidate, maralixibat, is a Phase 3-ready investigational oral drug being evaluated in Alagille syndrome (ALGS) and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). Backed by investors including NEA, Deerfield Management, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Novo Holdings A/S, Pappas Capital, RiverVest Venture Partners and Rock Springs Capital, Mirum is dedicated to bringing innovation to patients as quickly and efficiently as possible. For more information, visit MirumPharma.com.