Valo Health appoints Karin Conde-Knape, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Seasoned drug discovery leader will join Valo to further advance human-centric, AI-enabled drug discovery Lexington, MA, Tuesday, February 3 - Valo Health, Inc. ("Valo"), a company pioneering the use of human data and AI to accelerate drug discovery and development, today announced the appointment of Karin Conde-Knape, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Dr. Conde-Knape brings more than two decades of expertise in drug development and translational science and a passion for patient-centric innovation. Dr. Conde-Knape will join Valo following an extensive career at Novo Nordisk, where she had multiple roles including Senior Vice President of Early Development and Global Drug Discovery. She led research and early development across multiple therapeutic areas through internal and external innovation approaches. At Valo, she will oversee scientific strategy and execution, advancing a diverse portfolio of internal programs and global collaborations aimed at delivering transformative therapies for patients. "Dr. Conde-Knape's scientific leadership, passion for patient-centric innovation, and proven track record in drug discovery will be invaluable as we continue to scale our platform and deliver on our mission to transform drug discovery through AI-enabled human causal biology and predictive chemistry," said Brian Alexander, MD, MPH, CEO of Valo. "We are thrilled to welcome her to the team during such an exciting time for the company and our industry." Dr. Conde-Knape's appointment follows the planned retirement of Mike Graziano, Ph.D., Valo's current CSO, who will transition to the role of Scientific Advisor. Dr. Graziano has been instrumental in advancing Valo's science, platform and partnerships, leading the development and advancement of several internal and partnered programs. "I have long admired Valo's vision, ways of working, and bold approach to reimagining drug discovery," said Dr. Conde-Knape. "By starting with human data and applying advanced analytical tools and techniques, we can better understand disease causality and design new drugs based on those learnings. I look forward to building on Valo's momentum and partnering with the team to deliver more therapeutic breakthroughs for patients." Dr. Conde-Knape holds a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of Connecticut and has authored numerous publications in different areas of cardiometabolic disease biology and translational research. Prior to her role at Novo Nordisk, she spent several years at Hoffmann-La Roche in the Cardiovascular and Metabolism Discovery and early development areas, responsible for pharmacology teams as well as discovery and biomarker teams. She also led external innovation in Europe and Asia Pacific in Cardiovascular and Metabolism at Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Conde-Knape has been named one of the "Fiercest Women in Life Sciences" by Fierce Pharma, and one of the top 20 women breaking new ground in biopharma R&D by Endpoints News. About Valo Health: Valo is redefining drug discovery and development through its AI-enabled human causal biology and closed loop chemistry platforms. Valo uses AI to understand disease causality, identify patient subtypes across heterogeneous diseases, and pinpoint novel drug targets. The company validates targets using proprietary 3D engineered human tissue models that mimic mature human physiology and structure. The Company's closed loop chemistry platform enables rapid development of potential molecules from trillions of starting points. Valo's approach aims to identify more impactful drug targets and small molecule therapeutics, faster, and with greater precision than traditional R&D methods. Valo was founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2019. Follow us on LinkedIn and X. Media Contact: Erin Smith [email protected]

Valo Health appoints Rita Kale as Chief Financial Officer. Lexington, MA - December 2, 2025 - Valo Health, Inc. ("Valo"), a company pioneering the use of human data and AI to accelerate drug discovery and development, today announced the appointment of Rita Kale as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Rita brings more than two decades of global finance leadership in biopharma, diagnostics, and technology-enabled healthcare. "We are proud to welcome Rita Kale as Valo's Chief Financial Officer during such a pivotal time at Valo," said Brian Alexander, MD, MPH, CEO of Valo Health. "Rita's deep financial expertise and proven track record of strategically scaling organizations make her an invaluable addition to our leadership team. Her ability to align financial strategy with scientific innovation will be instrumental as we accelerate our mission to transform drug discovery and deliver meaningful impact to patients in the future." Rita previously served as CFO and Head of Corporate Management at Foundation Medicine, where she played a key role in driving product expansion and operational improvement. Earlier in her career, she held senior finance leadership roles at the Roche Group across Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa; served as country CFO in South Africa and India; and led finance for Global Product Strategy in Switzerland. In these positions, Rita led strategic capital allocation and drove major business initiatives across complex healthcare markets, successfully securing funding for multiple product launches while accelerating organizational growth and scaling operations. Rita also serves on the board of CareMetx, a leading patient access services company. "I'm thrilled to join Valo at such a transformative time for the company," said Rita Kale. "Valo's vision, platform, and team are outstanding. I look forward to combining corporate strategy and operational execution to help accelerate our mission." Valo is transforming drug discovery through AI-enabled human causal biology and predictive chemistry. The company advances its own pipeline of therapeutic candidates, and partners with pharmaceutical companies to accelerate their pre-clinical R&D. By integrating Valo's early R&D capabilities with the clinical development expertise and scale of its pharmaceutical partners through a fractional portfolio model, Valo aims to deliver more transformative medicines to patients faster. About Valo Health: Valo is redefining drug discovery and development through its AI-enabled human causal biology and closed loop chemistry platforms. Valo uses AI to understand disease causality, identify patient subtypes across heterogeneous diseases, and pinpoint novel drug targets. The company validates targets using proprietary 3D engineered human tissue models that mimic mature human physiology and structure. The Company's closed loop chemistry platform enables rapid development of potential molecules from trillions of starting points. Valo's approach aims to identify more impactful drug targets and small molecule therapeutics, faster, and with greater precision than traditional R&D methods. Valo was founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2019. Follow Valo Health LLC on LinkedIn and X.

Merck KGaA eyes new Parkinson's disease assets with $3bn Valo partnership. Valo will use its trove of patient records and biobank samples to pinpoint potential targets for Merck's pipeline expansion. Merck KGaA has signed a drug discovery partnership with Valo Health, becoming the latest big pharma to enlist the services of the tech company to identify the next big therapeutic. The strategic collaboration will see Merck offer Valo over a potential $3bn in upfront and milestone payments, as well as R&D funding and royalties from any products that come from the work. In return, the German drugmaker will use Valo's AI human casual biology and discovery platforms to find new disease targets and create preclinical compounds. Valo stated the link-up will focus on "advancing therapeutic discovery in Parkinson's disease and related disorders". Valo's human casual biology platform uses AI to scan more than 17 million de-identified patient records and biobank samples to pinpoint potential therapeutic targets. Within the scope of neurological disorders, the company's tech has been able to identify distinct patient phenotypes across the disease spectrum. Valo's closed-loop chemistry platform then continues the discovery journey by developing small molecules that engage these disease targets. Merck's global neurology and immunology research unit head Amy Kao said: "Our research engine is focused on delivering meaningful medicines for patients with high unmet medical needs. Valo Health's AI-enabled platforms utilising human data will help sharpen target selection and streamline drug discovery, enabling us to advance the most promising candidates faster." US tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate? Don't let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis. Valo does have its own internal pipeline, but partnerships have recently become an important commercial avenue for the company. The company's diabetic retinopathy candidate OPL-0401 failed a Phase II trial, leading to a shift in focus towards its cache of real-world data. Valo has not publicly disclosed the other assets in its pipeline. What has been in the public realm are the big-dollar deals signed with big pharma companies looking to bring in the new generation of drugs to their pipelines. Novo has an ongoing partnership with Valo that has $4.6bn on the line if certain development milestones are met in cardiometabolic indications. Pfizer is also working with Valo via a ten-programme agreement with the latter's founder, Flagship Pioneering. Enlisting the services of companies with AI-powered platforms has become a common occurrence in the pharma industry in recent years. Analysis by GlobalData demonstrates that the speed and efficiency of AI can cut drug development costs and cycles. Valo's CEO Brian Alexander said the company is looking forward to using its platform to expand Merck's pipeline of treatments for Parkinson's and related disorders. Alexander added: "Starting with human causal biology in vast amounts of real-world data allows us to unravel the complexity of heterogeneous diseases like Parkinson's and start experimentation with human validated mechanisms, giving us greater confidence that a target will translate into a successful therapeutic candidate." Give your business an edge with its leading industry insights. Pharmaceutical Technology Excellence Awards - The benefits of entering. Gain the recognition you deserve! The Pharmaceutical Technology Excellence Awards celebrate innovation, leadership, and impact. By entering, you showcase your achievements, elevate your industry profile, and position yourself among top leaders driving pharmaceutical advancements. Don't miss your chance to stand out - submit your entry today!