US-based clinical-stage biotech Lumen Bioscience, which develops orally delivered biologics, has announced key leadership enhancements amid growing momentum in its clinical programmes.

Jeff Raikes has joined Lumen’s board as an independent director. Raikes brings extensive experience in technology innovation and large-scale business operations, having held senior roles at Microsoft and Costco. His expertise in scaling organisations and expanding product reach is expected to support Lumen’s progression toward commercial launch.

Other leadership updates include the promotion of Nhi Khuong to Executive Vice President and Kole Krieger to Senior Vice President. David Saunders, a retired US Army Colonel and clinical trialist, has joined the clinical development team. Additionally, board director Erik Anderson has been elected Vice Chairman, working closely with board co-chairs and Lumen co-founders Brian Finrow and Jim Roberts.

Since 2023, Lumen’s team has grown nearly 39 percent, maintaining an average annual growth rate of over 15 percent, and inaugurated a second dedicated GMP facility to meet rising demand for clinical trial drug supplies.

The leadership enhancements follow the recent success of investigational LMN-201 for recurrent C. difficile infection in the Phase 2 segment of the RePreve Clinical Trial.

Brian Finrow, CEO of Lumen Bioscience, said, "This milestone affirms the transformative power of spirulina-based GMP manufacturing. As our clinical programmes continue to mature, we are thinking more and more about commercialisation and distribution.

Lumen is advancing investigational oral biologic drugs and dietary supplements designed to act locally in the gut, with a pipeline targeting weight loss, C. difficile infection, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney stone disease, traveller’s diarrhoea, and other high prevalence conditions.

This summer, Lumen completed an oversubscribed USD 30 million Series C financing extension, led by WestRiver Group, with significant participation from the Gates Foundation and existing investors. The fresh funding supports the acceleration of Lumen's late-stage clinical programes and commercial readiness activities. 

"We are committed to investing in groundbreaking innovations, including those paving the way for a revolutionary era in drug delivery. Lumen's visionary approach to engineering biologics for oral GI delivery is not just a leap forward, it's a promise to democratize access to world-class therapeutics and dramatically lower costs,” said Erik Anderson, Founder and CEO of WestRiver Group and CEO of Singularity University.

“Together, we are redefining treatment paradigms and are igniting a movement that transforms lives and elevates patient outcomes for everyone,” he added.