Q&A with Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, Co- Founder & Chief Executive Officer/President at Apellis Pharmaceuticals
Tell us about your first experience with a kidney patient, personally or professionally, and what impressions that left on you as a fellow human being?
I still remember the day we first saw results from our Phase 2 DISCOVERY trial studying EMPAVELI® (pegcetacoplan) in several types
of kidney diseases, including C3G. Seeing the positive results in C3G was thrilling, because I realized we had the potential to impact patients’ lives for the better. I didn’t have the privilege of meeting someone living with C3G face-to-face until after that, and when I heard firsthand the impact of the disease and the ways that our clinical trial had helped her, I felt even more motivated to continue our work. Now, with the recent approval of EMPAVELI for C3G and primary IC-MPGN, we’ve turned the promise of those early results into a meaningful treatment option for patients. In addition, Apellis is exploring the potential of EMPAVELI in other kidney diseases including FSGS and delayed graft function following a kidney transplant.
Can you tell our AAKP national and global audiences why/how Apellis first came into the kidney disease space and about the company’s commitment to kidney patients and their families?
Apellis was founded to explore the potential of our medicine to comprehensively control complement-driven diseases by targeting C3, the central protein in the complement cascade. This included kidney diseases like C3G and primary-IC-MPGN.
All of our work in kidney disease is guided by our patient-committed framework: everything we do for patients, we do with patients. We have built trusted relationships with patient advocacy organizations that support people living with rare and chronic kidney diseases, and we collaborate closely with our Patient and Caregiver Advisory Council to ensure the patient voice is integrated across everything we do. Through regular conversations with patients and their families, we gain a deeper understanding of what it means to live with rare kidney diseases such as C3G and primary IC-MPGN. These insights are essential to ensure that Apellis can develop programs and resources to help make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients.
As we know, rare kidney diseases can present in many different ways making diagnosis and treatment sometimes challenging. Tell us about the Phase 3 VALIANT study and how EMPAVELI was developed to help patients with C3G (C3 glomerulopathy) and primary IC-MPGN (immune-complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis).
The VALIANT Phase 3 study (NCT05067127) was designed to study the efficacy and safety of EMPAVELI in patients 12 years of age and older with C3G or primary IC-MPGN. It is the largest single clinical trial conducted in these populations and the only to include pediatric and adult patients with C3G and primary IC-MPGN, and C3G patients with post-transplant disease recurrence. The positive, consistent results from this study were truly exciting—and they paved the way for EMPAVELI’s recent FDA approval in C3G and primary IC-MPGN.
We understand that EMPAVELI is self-administered via an on-body delivery device. How can patients learn more about this study and FDA approved EMPAVELI?
In addition to speaking directly with their healthcare provider, patients can also visit EMPAVELI.com to learn more about this treatment option and how the medicine is administered.
Innovation in the kidney space is important to patients, as they want to be involved and have their voice heard. Can you express the importance of why patients, in consultation with the healthcare professionals they choose to care for them, should have access to and choice of which treatment, whether established or a new innovation, is right for them?
Patients should have access to the latest and most effective treatments that are right for them. I’ve always believed that true patient care is about ensuring access to the right treatment at the right time. Shared decision-making lies at the heart of patient empowerment. The days when patients relied on their physicians to make every decision are behind us. Nephrologists have a responsibility to ensure their patients are fully informed about all available treatment options—so they can choose the therapy that best meets their needs and supports the best possible outcomes.
As a leader in healthcare, you know well that it is not easy to develop a novel approach to treat or enhance care. What do you draw upon internally to keep your drive, optimism, and focus on patients going at full speed during the tough days?
I’m a physician first, a scientist second, and CEO third. I’m motivated by the same thing that initially led me to medical school: the ability to help people who are affected by illnesses and diseases. It is a profound and unique privilege.
I find real joy from studying the science of rare diseases like C3G and primary IC-MPGN, understanding their causes, and then developing approaches that can improve peoples’ lives. That purpose is more than enough to motivate me to get up in the morning. Yes, there can be challenges and setbacks, but it’s an incredible privilege for me and all of us at Apellis to know we can make a difference through our work.
Final question – AAKP patients think this last question reveals a lot about a person – who is one of your heroes
and why?
My father. He was a surgeon, and when I was young, he would often be at work before I woke up and stayed until after I went to sleep. People have asked me if that was difficult, but it wasn’t. When I saw my father, his passion and drive for his patients was awe-inspiring. He gave up so much in the service of his work, because he felt his patients were his greatest responsibility. That mindset has been instilled in me and is the anchor for everything that I do.
Dr. Cedric Francois is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS). Together, he and his co-founders built Apellis from a small biotech startup into a global biopharmaceutical company that achieved three groundbreaking FDA approvals in four years.
Under his leadership, Apellis has become a leader in complement science with a proven track record of advancing medicines from discovery to commercialization and an innovative pipeline focused on serious diseases. Throughout this growth, Dr. Francois has fostered the entrepreneurial spirit, courageous science, and compassion for patients that have defined the company from the beginning and will guide its future.
Before founding Apellis, Dr. Francois co-founded Potentia Pharmaceuticals, a private biotechnology company that was acquired by Alcon Research Ltd. in 2009. He serves as a non-executive director for several biotechnology companies.
Dr. Francois earned his MD from the University of Leuven in Belgium and his PhD in physiology from the University of Louisville. He was part of the research team that performed the first successful hand transplantation in 1999 and later contributed to the first successful face transplant in Lyon, France. He has authored numerous scientific publications and is an inventor on multiple biotechnology patents.
