CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SalioGen Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company developing the Gene Coding approach to genetic medicine, announced today the formation of an Executive Advisory Board (EAB) led by John Maraganore, Ph.D., Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. and Andrew Lo, Ph.D. The EAB will work closely with the executive management team in building SalioGen’s sustainable and multidisciplinary strategy and guiding the company as it advances its Gene Coding platform through multiple therapeutic areas.
“We are extremely privileged to have the opportunity to tap into the expertise of these three esteemed veterans as we work to build a transformative, patient-centric and science-driven company,” said Ray Tabibiazar, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SalioGen. “John’s experience building an exceptionally successful platform company based on a new category of medicine will be invaluable as we begin our journey down a similar road. Additionally, Mark’s unparalleled command of regulatory and healthcare policy will be crucial as we begin to navigate an evolving regulatory landscape with a novel technology. Finally, Andrew’s research and deep understanding of financial markets will be paramount in guiding our disciplined and thoughtful approach to advancing our Gene Coding genetic medicine platform. We’re confident that these three experts, in addition to our established management and board members, will position SalioGen for success.”
Dr. Maraganore, long-tenured, founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, led the advancement of RNA interference (RNAi) from an early platform technology into a new, validated class of genetic medicines. While he was CEO, Alnylam received approval for four medicines in over 25 countries, including the first ever approval for an RNAi therapeutic. Prior to Alnylam, he served in senior roles for various other companies, including Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Biogen.
Dr. Maraganore said, “SalioGen’s approach is highly differentiated and has exciting prospects for new medicines. I see many similarities between the opportunities and challenges at Alnylam in years past and those SalioGen faces today, as they embark on a journey of building a product engine platform around their scientific discovery. I look forward to advising the SalioGen team in their advancement of Gene Coding, with the goal of bringing treatments and potentially cures to patients with their breakthrough technology.”
Dr. McClellan, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has led the development and reformation of health policy at the highest levels. He currently serves as the Robert J. Margolis Professor of Business, Medicine, and Policy, and founding Director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University.
Dr. McClellan added, “Genetic medicines and cellular therapies represent major new opportunities to intercept and cure diseases, and as such, they require thoughtful attention to demonstrating safety and effectiveness, and to assuring that patients who can benefit get access at a sustainable cost. I’m pleased to provide guidance to the distinguished team at SalioGen as they work to develop a truly innovative approach for improving the lives of patients.”
Dr. Lo, award-winning economist and Co-Founder of BridgeBio Pharma, has spent his career refining a multidisciplinary approach to understanding financial markets, including healthcare finance. Dr. Lo is the Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor of Finance and the Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is published extensively and has won dozens of awards for his research.
Dr. Lo added, “Navigating therapeutics development as an early-stage biotech company is a nuanced challenge even in the most forgiving economic circumstances. I’m thrilled to lend my years of research to assess SalioGen’s platform opportunity using big data and apply a strategic and analytical approach to its pipeline and portfolio prioritization.”
About SalioGen Therapeutics
SalioGen Therapeutics has launched Gene CodingTM, a genetic medicine platform, to develop durable, broadly applicable genetic medicines, using its Exact DNA Integration TechnologyTM (EDIT) platform. EDITTM is based on the novel discovery of a mammal-derived genomic engineering tool, for use in potentially curative genetic medicines. SalioGen is focused on developing durable, safe and accessible non-viral genetic medicines for more patients with inherited diseases that are beyond what is addressable with current technologies, initially focusing on inherited macular disorders and inherited lipid disorders.
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