---
title: "Allergan eats Kythera: Karan Therapeutics is born"
description: (10/05/2015) There isn’t much out there about California’s newest biotech company, but here are a few clues to set you on your way.
image: https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/5b0edd323cc37a55ed8f059e_nmys5e-b88386634z_120150417114447000gih987f2_10-1.jpg
---

[![arrow](https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/zymewire-2022/images/back%20arrow.svg)](https://blog.zymewire.com)

# Allergan eats Kythera: Karan Therapeutics is born

##### October 14, 2019 | Pete Bastedo | Industry Articles

*This article was originally published by Zymewire on 10/05/2015.*

There isn’t much out there about California’s newest biotech company, but here are a few clues to set you on your way. 

![image](https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/tumblr_inline_nvnprvKDOI1rhtecc_500-1.png)

Karan Therapeutics is based out of a Regus office in Thousand Oaks, not too far the Amgen Mothership.  The founder of Karan Therapeutics is a fellow named Frank Watanabe. You can view Frank’s LinkedIn profile here  [https://www.linkedin.com/pub/frank-watanabe/0/711/419](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fpub%2Ffrank-watanabe%2F0%2F711%2F419&t=YzAzMmUxOGI0NTgxZDMwODVjZTg1YTE4MzQ5ZjM2M2UwZmFkMWIxZixVTWZYSktrbg%3D%3D&b=t%3Acno6eXhGMG6Ghkk24XZp0A&p=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.zymewire.com%2Fpost%2F130531269018%2Fallergan-eats-kythera-karan-therapeutics-is-born)

Frank is a seasoned pharma and biotech veteran.  He is also an actual veteran and spent time as a Navy Commander between stints at Eli Lilly and Amgen.   Frank is (was?) most recently VP Strategy and Corporate Dev at KYTHERA Pharmaceuticals.  

 So what does Karan Therapeutics do?  One (**highly speculative**) possibility is that when Allergan acquired Kythera, Frank was given the chance to start something new. According to [the internet](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.octafinance.com%2Fkaran-therapeutics-105000-fundraising-todd-franklin-watanabe-released-oct-2-form-d%2F213769%2F&t=NTY4NjNlNGVlMWRmZWRjNzQ4ZTIzMDlkMGQxZGJhZjk1ZjY0ZGQ3ZCxVTWZYSktrbg%3D%3D&b=t%3Acno6eXhGMG6Ghkk24XZp0A&p=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.zymewire.com%2Fpost%2F130531269018%2Fallergan-eats-kythera-karan-therapeutics-is-born)- which we all know is never wrong-  Karan has raised just over $100 K. Obviously not enough to do any drug development activity, but perhaps enough to get the company off the ground from a legal perspective.  

Keep an eye on Karan Therapeutics and Frank Watanabe for more developments.  

**Did you find this article helpful? Check out our main site at [www.zymewire.com](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zymewire.com%2F&t=OWNlZjgwYWJkZDUzZDdjNzJmNzQ2Mzk2ZjFiM2MyZjFhYzI5ODFiMyxVTWZYSktrbg%3D%3D&b=t%3Acno6eXhGMG6Ghkk24XZp0A&p=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.zymewire.com%2Fpost%2F130531269018%2Fallergan-eats-kythera-karan-therapeutics-is-born) to start converting more biotech prospects into clients.  **

### Comments

#### Share it on

- ![Twitter](https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/zymewire-2022/images/brandico_twitter-bird.svg)
- ![Linkedin](https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/zymewire-2022/images/eva_linkedin-fill.svg)
- ![Facebook](https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/zymewire-2022/images/brandico_facebook.svg)

### Subscribe now

## Related blogs

##### [![When M&A Should Drive Sales, Why Does It Often Do the Opposite?](https://blog.zymewire.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Zymewire_%20M%26A%20Blog%20Cover.png?A%20Blog%20Cover.png&width=500&name=Zymewire_%20M%26A%20Blog%20Cover.png?A%20Blog%20Cover.png) When M&A Should Drive Sales, Why Does It Often Do the Opposite? In the fast-paced world of life sciences, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often seen as a golden ticket to growth. But what happens ... 21 Apr, 2025](https://blog.zymewire.com/when-ma-should-drive-sales-why-does-it-often-do-the-opposite)

##### [![Biopharma Recap: Q3 2024](https://blog.zymewire.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Q3%202024%20Biopharma%20Recap%20(Zymewire).png?width=500&name=Q3%202024%20Biopharma%20Recap%20(Zymewire).png) Biopharma Recap: Q3 2024 In our Q3 2024 biopharma recap, we dive into the latest trends in funding, clinical trial activity, and therapeutic focus areas across the ... 15 Oct, 2024](https://blog.zymewire.com/biopharma-recap-q3-2024)

##### [![Q2 Biopharma Recap](https://blog.zymewire.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Q2%20Biopharma%20Recap%20Cover.png?width=500&name=Q2%20Biopharma%20Recap%20Cover.png) Q2 Biopharma Recap As the second quarter of 2024 comes to a close, the biopharma landscape continues to evolve with dynamic shifts in funding, clinical ... 24 Jul, 2024](https://blog.zymewire.com/q2-biopharma-recap)

## Custom built for biotech and pharma

We are obsessed with finding new ways to help your business generate more qualified leads.

Our human-verified AI scans thousands of documents every day, separates the signal from the noise, and delivers value in the form of actionable sales intelligence.

Demo Zymewire

### Book a Demo

- Access stealth biotech companies
- Never miss a sales signal
- Find whitespace in your sales territory

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Pete Bastedo",
    "url" : "https://blog.zymewire.com/author/pete-bastedo"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2021-06-30T19:42:02.126Z",
  "datePublished" : "2019-10-14T04:00:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "Allergan eats Kythera: Karan Therapeutics is born",
  "image" : [ "https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/5b0edd323cc37a55ed8f059e_nmys5e-b88386634z_120150417114447000gih987f2_10-1.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://blog.zymewire.com/post/allergan-eats-kythera-karan-therapeutics-is-bornfull-namecompany-name",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://blog.zymewire.com/hubfs/white_logo.jpg"
    }
  }
}
```