Jim Breitmeyer

About Jim Breitmeyer

Dr. James Breitmeyer is a highly qualified pharmaceutical executive and experienced board director. He has led successful development programs to company acquisitions and eight FDA approvals. His team developed the ADC that was spun out to VelosBio and acquired by Merck & Co for $2.75B, he led the acquisition of Bavarian Nordic Inc\'s oncology assets by BMS, and was part of the acquisition of Applied Molecular Evolution by Eli Lilly, the acquisition of Zogenix by UCB, and the acquisition of Cadence Pharmaceuticals by Mallinckrodt. He developed the only agent to be approved by the FDA to increase muscle mass, Serostim® for AIDS related cachexia/sarcopenia.His areas of expertise include corporate leadership and governance, clinical development, regulatory negotiation, CMC (cell, viral, antibody and small molecule therapeutics), safety, quality, business development, and Board of Directors roles including Audit, Compensation and Science/Development committees. Dr. Breitmeyer is board certified in internal medicine and oncology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of California and earned M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University School of Medicine with fellowships at Washington University and Harvard Medical School. He held clinical and teaching faculty positions at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Breitmeyer has more than 35 years of experience across all aspects of the biotechnology industry in both large and small companies including Serono, Harvard Clinical Research Institute, Applied Molecular Evolution, Eli Lilly & Co, Zogenix Inc, Bavarian Nordic, Oncternal Therapeutics, SOLVE FSHD and Altay Therapeutics. His experience spans multiple therapeutic areas including muscular dystrophy, oncology, immunology, endocrinology, reproductive health, cachexia, rare diseases and pain. He was a member of the Boards of Directors of Zogenix Inc, and Otonomy Inc.

Experience

1. Chief Executive Officer, Board Director

   Altay Therapeutics

   Feb 2026 — Present · San Francisco, CA, US

   I am pleased to announce that I have joined Altay Therapeutics as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board. Altay is unlocking the therapeutic potential of transcription factor inhibition to address serious, under served diseases, targeting muscular dystrophy (FSHD), cancer and inflammation (STAT3). Its therapeutic area-agnostic drug discovery platform identifies novel allosteric sites - emerging only through dynamic structural changes in transcription factors - to design highly selective small molecule inhibitors with the potential to be first- or best-in-class. The lead program is DX5057, the first oral inhibitor of DUX4 (double homeobox 4), whose aberrant expression is the known cause of FSHD, or facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. FSHD, an autosomal dominant genetic disorder, is one of the three most common forms of muscular dystrophy, with up to people in the US and Europe experiencing progressive disability and with no therapy available. The field was recently stimulated by favorable interactions between Avidity Biosciences and the FDA, their encouraging clinical and biomarker results, and their subsequent acquisition by Novartis. Altay has strong support from the FSHD community including SOLVE FSHD, a venture philanthropy group working to advance therapies for FSHD. I’m proud to join Altay’s innovative founders and its strong executive and clinical team with experience bringing rare disease therapies to the clinic and FDA and international approvals.

Education

• University of California, Santa Cruz

  BA, Chemistry, Biology

  1971 — 1975

• Harvard Medical School

  Fellow, Oncology

  1985 — 1987

• Woodside High School

  High School Graduate, High School/Secondary Diplomas and Certificates

  1967 — 1971

• Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

  MD, PhD, Medicine, Immunology

  1975 — 1981

Skills

• Rapport Building
• Vaccines
• Team Leadership
• Negotiation
• Integrity
• C3
• Microsoft Office
• Admin Apps
• Internal Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Training
• Oncology
• Clinical Research
• Tumor Immunology
• Therapeutic Areas
• Communication Abilities
• Viruses
• Pharmacology
• Ctms
• Biotechnology Industry
• Mac Os
• Regulatory Submissions
• S3
• Medical Writing
• Systematic
• Cancer Immunotherapy
• Endocrinology
• Dermatology
• Immunology
• Project Planning
• Leadership Development
• Internet Marketing
• Clinical Development
• Nephrology
• Project Management
• Drug Discovery
• Success Driven
• Cardiology
• Translational Medicine
• Diabetes