LEXINGTON, Mass., (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kaleido Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: KLDO), a clinical-stage healthcare company with a chemistry-driven approach to targeting the microbiome to treat disease and improve human health, today announced that Alison Lawton has chosen to step down from her position as President and Chief Executive Officer in order to return to the United Kingdom and attend to an unexpected family health matter. Ms. Lawton will continue to serve as a Director and special advisor to Kaleido and will support the company through this transition.

“It has been an enormous privilege to have led the transition of Kaleido from a private, early research company to a public company with a broad pipeline of programs in clinical and preclinical development,” Ms. Lawton said. “I am honored to have worked with remarkable colleagues who are committed to advancing the science of our unique technology targeted at the microbiome to redefine how we can manage patients’ unmet needs in the future. I am excited about Kaleido’s upcoming milestones, including the COVID-19 clinical results expected in Q4 2020, the broader opportunity to make a difference in both immune-mediated and rare diseases, including oncology and UCD, and I have confidence that the team will achieve continued success.”

Kaleido’s Board of Directors will be initiating a search for a new CEO and has established an Office of the CEO to lead the organization and to advance its strategic goals during this transition period. The Office of the CEO will be comprised of Mike Bonney and Ms. Lawton. Mr. Bonney is the Executive Chair and former CEO of Kaleido and has more than 25 years of experience leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including 12 years as the CEO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Other members of the Board of Directors have also committed to providing their expertise and support to the organization until a successor CEO is identified.

“I am truly grateful for Alison’s leadership as Kaleido initiated and advanced our programs, including those aimed at addressing the unmet need for outpatients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease, immuno-oncology, ulcerative colitis and other immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases,” said Mr. Bonney. “I look forward to working closely with Alison and the entire company as we progress toward important data readouts from these and other programs starting in Q4 2020 and throughout 2021.”

About Kaleido Biosciences

Kaleido Biosciences is a clinical-stage healthcare company with a differentiated, chemistry-driven approach to targeting the microbiome to treat disease and improve human health. The Company has built a proprietary product platform to enable the rapid and cost-efficient discovery and development of novel Microbiome Metabolic Therapies (MMT™). MMTs are designed to modulate the metabolic output and profile of the microbiome by driving the function and distribution of the gut’s existing microbes. Kaleido is advancing a broad pipeline of MMT candidates with the potential to address a variety of diseases and conditions with significant unmet patient needs. To learn more, visit https://kaleido.com/.