Peter Anastasiou

Chief Operating Officer; formerly CEO, Capsida Biotherapeutics, Harmony Biosc Hold

Search every verified Peter Anastasiou interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Peter Anastasiou, chief executive officer of Capsida Biotherapeutics, discussed the company’s strategy and his career background in a January 2025 interview at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. He described his early career in sales and marketing at Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb before moving into biotech management. At Capsida, he emphasized the company’s decision to invest in in-house manufacturing capacity, stating that while the initial cost was significant, it would be more expensive to face delays or quality issues from relying on external contract development and manufacturing organizations. He also noted that this capability helped create partnering opportunities. Anastasiou addressed the broader gene therapy field, saying that while the potential of genetic medicines is widely recognized, some first-generation therapies have faced failures and fallen out of favor with investors compared to areas like obesity and immunology. He stated that Capsida aims to solve the challenges that led to that decline. He also explained that the company deliberately selected its clinical programs, such as the STXBP1 program targeting a rare pediatric condition affecting about 5,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe, to address unmet medical needs while balancing traditional ultra-rare disease approaches with broader rare disease indications.