Better Therapeutics (Nasdaq:BTTX) announced today that it appointed Frank Karbe as its new president and CEO.
San Francisco-based Better Therapeutics develops prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) based on nutritional cognitive behavioral therapy (nCBT) to address the root causes of cardiometabolic diseases.
Karbe will join the company as president and CEO and will serve as a member of its board of directors starting on July 5, 2022. Current CEO and co-founder Kevin Appelbaum will continue in the role until Karbe’s start date.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Frank to the Better Therapeutics team,” Appelbaum said in a news release. “Over the past seven years, I have had the privilege of assembling and leading an extraordinarily talented and committed team in creating, developing and validating a new class of treatments for cardiometabolic diseases. … Frank’s long track record of building and financing life science companies will ensure that Better Therapeutics is able to capitalize on these results and bring life-changing prescription digital therapeutics to the providers and patients who need them most.”
Appelbaum also noted that, with positive primary endpoint data from the company’s type 2 diabetes pivotal trial, he has confidence that Better Therapeutics’ first product is on track for a successful FDA submission and a potential commercial launch if authorized.
Karbe joins at such a critical juncture having most recently served as president and CFO at Myovant Sciences, leading its evolution from a private startup to a publicly-traded commercial-stage company with two approved and marketed produts.
Prior to Myovant, he served for a decade as EVP and CFO at Exelixis and, before that, was an investment banker for Goldman Sachs & Co.
“Better Therapeutics is at an important stage in the company’s evolution, with the potential commercial launch of its first-in-class prescription digital therapeutic for the treatment of type 2 diabetes next year,” Karbe said. “With the continued rise in cardiometabolic diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease, it’s more important than ever to complement medication with digital therapeutics that address the behavioral root causes of these diseases.
“It is an honor and a great opportunity to lead such a talented group of people in this emerging new sector of healthcare, as we advance and expand our digital therapeutics platform with a goal to fundamentally change the course of these diseases by empowering patients and providers and substantially reducing the cost of care.”
