Synopsis:
Nimbus Therapeutics CEO Abbas Kazimi walks Alok Tayi through the company’s evolving pipeline and playbook for choosing the right risks in a noisy biotech environment. From Werner helicase for MSI-high cancers to a highly selective SIK2 program and GLP-1–adjacent strategies focused on body composition, Abbas details how Nimbus balances rigor, speed, and capital efficiency.
He shares candid lessons from pausing and later resurrecting AMPK beta in partnership with Eli Lilly, the decision to remain modality-agnostic but small-molecule-centric, and the importance of knowing when not to chase the latest fad. Throughout, Abbas returns to a consistent theme: success at Nimbus comes from disciplined target selection, deep collaboration, and a culture that empowers teams to make hard calls in service of patients rather than headlines.
Biography:
Abbas Kazimi is the Chief Executive Officer of Nimbus Therapeutics. Previously, he served as Chief Business Officer, leading the company’s strategic and corporate development efforts while overseeing business operations. Since joining Nimbus in 2014, he has helped raise over $630 million in equity financing and led transactions totaling more than $8 billion.
Notably, Mr. Kazimi spearheaded the $6 billion sale of Nimbus’s TYK2 program to Takeda, the $1.2 billion sale of its NASH (ACC) program to Gilead, and multiple licensing deals exceeding $1.5 billion with partners such as Genentech, Celgene/Roche, and Eli Lilly. Under his leadership, Nimbus has advanced four programs into the clinic, returned over $4 billion to investors, and continues to expand its computational drug discovery and clinical development capabilities.
In 2025, Mr. Kazimi joined the board of Unnatural Products (UNP), a biotech company pioneering orally delivered macrocyclic peptides to tackle previously undruggable targets. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for In Vivo magazine, a leading publication offering strategic insights and analysis of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medtech, and consumer health industries. Along with his family, he established the Kazimi Family Endowment for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. This endowment reflects their personal commitment to philanthropy and their vision for revolutionizing cancer treatment through data-driven innovation.
At the core of Mr. Kazimi’s leadership is a deep sense of purpose—one that seeks to change the trajectory of medical diagnoses where options are limited. The ability to give patients, prescribers, and families a new outlook on life is a powerful responsibility—and one he knows the biopharmaceutical sector has the ability to fulfill.
Before Nimbus, he was at Extera Partners, LLC (formerly PureTech Development, LLC), where he provided strategic advisory, supported fundraising, and executed numerous business development transactions. Earlier in his career, he was with JSB-Partners, LP, a specialized investment banking and advisory firm serving biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Kazimi holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. from Harvard University.
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Synopsis:
Nimbus Therapeutics CEO Abbas Kazimi walks Alok Tayi through the company’s evolving pipeline and playbook for choosing the right risks in a noisy biotech environment. From Werner helicase for MSI-high cancers to a highly selective SIK2 program and GLP-1–adjacent strategies focused on body composition, Abbas details how Nimbus balances rigor, speed, and capital efficiency.
He shares candid lessons from pausing and later resurrecting AMPK beta in partnership with Eli Lilly, the decision to remain modality-agnostic but small-molecule-centric, and the importance of knowing when not to chase the latest fad. Throughout, Abbas returns to a consistent theme: success at Nimbus comes from disciplined target selection, deep collaboration, and a culture that empowers teams to make hard calls in service of patients rather than headlines.
Biography:
Abbas Kazimi is the Chief Executive Officer of Nimbus Therapeutics. Previously, he served as Chief Business Officer, leading the company’s strategic and corporate development efforts while overseeing business operations. Since joining Nimbus in 2014, he has helped raise over $630 million in equity financing and led transactions totaling more than $8 billion.
Notably, Mr. Kazimi spearheaded the $6 billion sale of Nimbus’s TYK2 program to Takeda, the $1.2 billion sale of its NASH (ACC) program to Gilead, and multiple licensing deals exceeding $1.5 billion with partners such as Genentech, Celgene/Roche, and Eli Lilly. Under his leadership, Nimbus has advanced four programs into the clinic, returned over $4 billion to investors, and continues to expand its computational drug discovery and clinical development capabilities.
In 2025, Mr. Kazimi joined the board of Unnatural Products (UNP), a biotech company pioneering orally delivered macrocyclic peptides to tackle previously undruggable targets. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for In Vivo magazine, a leading publication offering strategic insights and analysis of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medtech, and consumer health industries. Along with his family, he established the Kazimi Family Endowment for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. This endowment reflects their personal commitment to philanthropy and their vision for revolutionizing cancer treatment through data-driven innovation.
At the core of Mr. Kazimi’s leadership is a deep sense of purpose—one that seeks to change the trajectory of medical diagnoses where options are limited. The ability to give patients, prescribers, and families a new outlook on life is a powerful responsibility—and one he knows the biopharmaceutical sector has the ability to fulfill.
Before Nimbus, he was at Extera Partners, LLC (formerly PureTech Development, LLC), where he provided strategic advisory, supported fundraising, and executed numerous business development transactions. Earlier in his career, he was with JSB-Partners, LP, a specialized investment banking and advisory firm serving biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Kazimi holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. from Harvard University.
Terns CEO Amy Burroughs on CML Innovation, Obesity Drug Breakthroughs & Leading Biotech Forward
Biotech 2050 Podcast
22 minutes 55 seconds
3 months ago
Terns CEO Amy Burroughs on CML Innovation, Obesity Drug Breakthroughs & Leading Biotech Forward
Synopsis:
Amy Burroughs, CEO of Terns Pharmaceuticals, joins Alok Tayi to share how she’s leading bold innovation in CML and obesity treatment, driving two high-stakes data readouts in 2025. From a non-linear path through tech, brand management, and Genentech to building resilient biotech teams, Amy reveals why product positioning, tolerability, and mentorship matter just as much as the science. She also shares her take on CEO loneliness, the value of a “personal board of directors,” and what it takes to lead with clarity, grit, and purpose in today’s biotech landscape.
Biography:
Amy Burroughs joined as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors in February 2024, bringing more than 25 years of leadership experience. Most recently, she served as CEO at Cleave Therapeutics, where she led the company through financings, spearheaded licensing and collaboration deals, and oversaw the clinical development of its investigational therapy, CB-5339, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Previously, she served as executive in residence at 5AM Ventures and, in parallel, as senior advisor to one of its portfolio companies, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, during its initial public offering. Earlier in her career, Ms. Burroughs held roles of increasing responsibility in commercial and strategy at Genentech, commercial and business development at other high growth therapeutics companies, talent and governance at Egon Zehnder International, and brand management at Procter & Gamble. Ms. Burroughs earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where she graduated as a Baker Scholar, and her B.A. in computer science with a minor in economics from Dartmouth College. She is currently a member of the board and audit committees at Tenaya Therapeutics.
Biotech 2050 Podcast
Synopsis:
Nimbus Therapeutics CEO Abbas Kazimi walks Alok Tayi through the company’s evolving pipeline and playbook for choosing the right risks in a noisy biotech environment. From Werner helicase for MSI-high cancers to a highly selective SIK2 program and GLP-1–adjacent strategies focused on body composition, Abbas details how Nimbus balances rigor, speed, and capital efficiency.
He shares candid lessons from pausing and later resurrecting AMPK beta in partnership with Eli Lilly, the decision to remain modality-agnostic but small-molecule-centric, and the importance of knowing when not to chase the latest fad. Throughout, Abbas returns to a consistent theme: success at Nimbus comes from disciplined target selection, deep collaboration, and a culture that empowers teams to make hard calls in service of patients rather than headlines.
Biography:
Abbas Kazimi is the Chief Executive Officer of Nimbus Therapeutics. Previously, he served as Chief Business Officer, leading the company’s strategic and corporate development efforts while overseeing business operations. Since joining Nimbus in 2014, he has helped raise over $630 million in equity financing and led transactions totaling more than $8 billion.
Notably, Mr. Kazimi spearheaded the $6 billion sale of Nimbus’s TYK2 program to Takeda, the $1.2 billion sale of its NASH (ACC) program to Gilead, and multiple licensing deals exceeding $1.5 billion with partners such as Genentech, Celgene/Roche, and Eli Lilly. Under his leadership, Nimbus has advanced four programs into the clinic, returned over $4 billion to investors, and continues to expand its computational drug discovery and clinical development capabilities.
In 2025, Mr. Kazimi joined the board of Unnatural Products (UNP), a biotech company pioneering orally delivered macrocyclic peptides to tackle previously undruggable targets. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for In Vivo magazine, a leading publication offering strategic insights and analysis of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medtech, and consumer health industries. Along with his family, he established the Kazimi Family Endowment for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. This endowment reflects their personal commitment to philanthropy and their vision for revolutionizing cancer treatment through data-driven innovation.
At the core of Mr. Kazimi’s leadership is a deep sense of purpose—one that seeks to change the trajectory of medical diagnoses where options are limited. The ability to give patients, prescribers, and families a new outlook on life is a powerful responsibility—and one he knows the biopharmaceutical sector has the ability to fulfill.
Before Nimbus, he was at Extera Partners, LLC (formerly PureTech Development, LLC), where he provided strategic advisory, supported fundraising, and executed numerous business development transactions. Earlier in his career, he was with JSB-Partners, LP, a specialized investment banking and advisory firm serving biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Kazimi holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. from Harvard University.
