🔒KalVista Pharmaceuticals appoints new COO and chief people officer

Framingham-based biopharmaceutical company KalVista Pharmaceuticals has added two executives to its C-suite. As of Monday, Bilal Arif has assumed his role as chief operating officer and Linea Aspesi as chief people officer, according to a Monday press release from KalVista. Aspesi previously worked in human resources at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Founded in 2011, KalVista develops oral therapies for those living with rare diseases with unmet needs, according to the company’s website. Its first product, EKTERLY, was created to treat hereditary angioedema, a genetic disease characterized by sudden swelling in different parts of the body, both external and internal, according to Cleveland Clinic. The drug received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July. "I am pleased to welcome Bilal and Linea to our leadership team as we advance the global launch of EKTERLY," KalVista CEO Ben Palleiko said in the release. "Their respective expertise in operations and human resources will be instrumental as we deliver on our commitment to people living with HAE." Arif replaces Jebediah Ledell, who resigned from his COO role on May 12 after five months in position, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the same day. He now works as a freelance strategic advisor, according to his LinkedIn profile. Arif comes to KalVista from Sarepta Therapeutics, a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company where he served as executive vice president, chief technical operations officer. He has worked in leadership roles throughout a number of biopharmaceutical firms for the past 25 years, including working in vice presidential capacities at Momenta Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson, and at Ireland-based Shire, which was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical, headquartered in Japan, according to a Monday SEC filing. Arif earned master’s degrees at both Brown University in Rhode Island and Tufts University in Medford and his bachelor’s degree from McGill University in Montréal. "I am excited to join KalVista and collaborate with such a talented team," Arif said in the release. "This is a pivotal time for EKTERLY, and I am focused on strengthening the operational framework to ensure people living with HAE fully benefit from this innovative therapy." Aspesi joins KalVista from her role as chief people officer having served in the same capacity at Editas Medicine, a Cambridge-based gene editing company, before assuming her most recent position as its chief administration officer. She has previously worked in the C-suite as chief human resources officer at both Watertown-based Forma Therapeutics, now a part of Novo Nordisk, and Denmark-based Saniona. Before that, she held HR roles at institutions including Sanofi out of Paris, UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst. "I am delighted to join KalVista at this important stage of the Company’s growth," Aspesi said in the release. "As EKTERLY expands globally, I am committed to shaping the people and organizational strategies that will support the business in achieving its ambitious goals." Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.