Calico Appoints Philip R. Kym, Ph.D., as Head of Drug Discovery
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Calico Life Sciences LLC (Calico), a biotechnology organization focused on aging and age-related diseases and founded by Alphabet Inc. and Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D., today announced the appointment of Philip R. Kym, Ph.D., as its Head of Drug Discovery. In this newly created role, Dr. Kym will oversee the direction, scientific execution, and operational management of Calico's drug discovery programs, from target identification and validation through lead optimization and candidate selection.
Dr. Kym most recently served as Vice President of Global Medicinal Chemistry at AbbVie until his retirement in September 2025. He is an accomplished medicinal chemist and leader with nearly three decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Over the course of his career, he has overseen the discovery of more than 25 clinical development candidates across a broad range of therapeutic areas including antiviral, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, anti-aging, pain, and metabolic diseases. Furthermore, he served as a member of the Joint Steering Committee for the Calico-AbbVie Collaboration.
"Phil is a familiar and respected colleague to many at Calico, and we are pleased to welcome him in this new leadership role," said Dr. Levinson, CEO of Calico. "He brings to his work deep medicinal chemistry expertise and a proven ability to build strong discovery organizations and partnerships. As Calico continues to advance its own portfolio and forge collaborations to accelerate the development of new medicines targeting aging and age-related diseases, Phil's leadership will be important in helping shape and expand our drug discovery efforts."
In his role as Vice President of Global Medicinal Chemistry at AbbVie, Dr. Kym led a large global medicinal chemistry organization and was responsible for setting strategy focused on delivering a diverse pipeline of novel therapeutics across small molecules, protein degraders, and antibody-drug conjugates, while also advancing the integration of AI and machine learning technologies into medicinal chemistry design cycles. Dr. Kym began his career at Abbott Laboratories in 1996, where he held multiple research and development roles before transitioning to AbbVie upon its formation in 2013.
"I am excited to join Calico in this new role at such an important moment of progress for the company," said Dr. Kym. "Calico has built an impressive track record of innovative biological research, paired with translational drug discovery capabilities that are truly unique. I look forward to continuing to advance programs I have been part of for many years and to leading the expansion of drug discovery initiatives in emerging areas of interest. It is a privilege to join so many familiar and talented colleagues and I look forward to working together to bring forward first-in-class medicines aimed at improving human healthspan."
Dr. Kym received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and completed an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin. He has served on the American Chemical Society MEDI Long Range Planning and MEDI Awards committees, the organizing committee for the National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, and was Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Natural Products and Bioactive Compounds.
About Calico
Calico (Calico Life Sciences LLC) is an Alphabet-founded research and development company whose mission is to harness advanced technologies and model systems to increase our understanding of the biology that controls human aging. Calico will use that knowledge to devise interventions that enable people to lead longer and healthier lives. To learn more about Calico, visit www.calicolabs.com. Follow @calico on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
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SOURCE Calico Life Sciences LLC