The company Garlan Adams joined in 2021 is a far different one today. The current chief legal officer at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals arrived at an organization of just over one hundred people, an early-stage biotech company that, today, boasts over six hundred employees, with advanced multiple-drug candidates in late-stage development. All in four years.
The CLO with over twenty-five years of healthcare law experience, particularly in the drug development and commercialization space, said coming to the then-small Crinetics was a chance to do something she had never done before, at a public company, no less.
“I have had lots of opportunities to be part of organizations that were already successful,” Adams explains. “But from the drug development stage, this was a completely different perspective. Crinetics needed to raise capital to fund research. Funding that research is typically on the backs of products that are already commercialized. So the first part of my time here, I had the opportunity to do something I’d never done before.”
Adams helped navigate Crinetics through a series of significant fundraising activities, including private investments in public equity (PIPEs) and underwritten public offerings, and new challenges for the CLO. Those efforts have been so successful that it has capital to fund operations through the end of this decade, eliminating the immediate need for further fundraising and allowing the company to focus on its core mission.
That mission has undergone remarkable progress during Adams’s tenure. When she arrived, the company’s lead candidate was just entering Phase 3 trials. The approval of Paltusotine, used in the treatment of acromegaly, a rare disorder found in neuroendocrine tumors, was the first big win. Now, Crinetics has two other drugs in Phase 3 trials, with several more currently in the pipeline.
Adams has been deeply involved in the regulatory processes, including the submission of a new drug application to the FDA, with a target action date in September 2025. She has also overseen successful submissions in Europe, where Crinetics secured orphan drug designation, a significant regulatory achievement that offers tax benefits and exemptions for the treatment of rare diseases.
The CLO’s legal leadership has extended into the operational complexities of bringing a drug to market, such as ensuring manufacturing compliance, navigating international regulatory environments, and establishing patient support systems in the US to facilitate access and reimbursement for new therapies.
That leadership has also included literally defining the internal legal function. The CLO said the company’s outside counsel was excellent, a foundation that allowed her to bring more and more key functions (including contracts and IP management) in-house while maintaining strategic relationships with external advisors for specialized needs.
“When you’re the first in-house lawyer, I think you expect a lot to have fallen through the cracks, but that just wasn’t the case here,” Adams says. “My hat is off to our outside counsel. We are lean enough that we still need to lean on them for some of our needs, but it’s been a great opportunity to really bring significant work in-house. I had the pleasure of doing so in a pretty pristine environment. It wasn’t a fire drill. It wasn’t an emergency. It was done in partnership and with a great amount of collaboration.”
On her own team and across the organization, Adams’s leadership is deeply rooted in the power of storytelling. Adams highlights the importance of the patient journey and the broader mission of pharmaceutical innovation. Telling the story isn’t necessarily about litigation; it’s about translating the patient story to investors and broader stakeholders. Adams can translate the company’s scientific achievements and ambitions into language that resonates with more business-minded professionals.
Recently, Adams and the rest of her organization spent a day listening to patients’ experiences with acromegaly diagnosis and treatment.
“There were people who it took ten years to get the appropriate diagnosis,” Adams explains. “There was irreparable damage done in that time. It puts your work into perspective. Any small issue just seems silly when you remember that you’re working to try and save lives. You’re trying to prevent people from suffering. The patients are all that matter.”
Looking ahead, Adams is focused on supporting Crinetics’ global ambitions. With late-stage products moving toward commercialization, her attention is shifting toward earlier-stage programs and the expansion of regulatory and commercial pathways in Europe, Latin America, and more. The CLO is currently laying the groundwork for submissions in new markets.
“We spent so much time laying out the path for drugs going into Phase 3, that I can now pivot my focus for a while,” Adams says. “I’m looking at an email right now about our submissions in Brazil. That’s where my focus will be for the next year or so.”
Adams came to Crinetics to build an internal legal team from the ground up, and she’s done it. But it was never about the accomplishment, it was about finding a new way to serve patients in need. It’s the hallmark of Adams’s career, and it’s a mission she never gets tired of serving.
King & Spalding LLP is a leading global law firm providing innovative legal services and business solutions to a variety of stakeholders around the globe. One of the world’s largest firms, K&S has more than 1,250 lawyers and professionals in 24 offices, including more than 400 attorneys dedicated to advising life sciences industry manufacturers, suppliers, providers, investors and distributors. The firm’s FDA & Life Sciences practice plays a critical role within this context, counseling multinational, mid-cap and startup drug, biotech and medical device companies, healthcare providers and technology ventures.
