BOSTON, Sept. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Verve Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to the care of cardiovascular disease with single-course gene editing medicines, today announced the appointment of Frederick “Fred” T. Fiedorek, M.D., as chief medical officer (CMO). Andrew Bellinger, M.D., Ph.D., the current chief scientific officer (CSO) and CMO, will transition to the role of CSO.
“We are excited by the continued expansion of the Verve team and the execution of a plan to become a multi-product clinical-stage company,” said Sekar Kathiresan, M.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Verve. “Our heart-1 clinical trial is well underway, with multiple additional trials planned in 2024 and beyond, and we have a robust research effort to fuel pipeline expansion and progress our partner programs. Now is the right time to split the CMO and CSO roles with two, complementary industry leaders. Verve’s tremendous progress over the last five years has been made possible by Andrew’s significant contributions in his joint role. He will continue to lead the growth of our portfolio as CSO and be a key collaborator to Fred to inform our clinical and regulatory strategies. Fred’s deep cardiology experience and more than 20 years of clinical development and regulatory expertise in the biopharma industry will be instrumental as we look to start additional trials that bring more programs into the clinic. I am thrilled by the talent of this team and our ability to execute our mission.”
Dr. Bellinger noted, “We are pleased to welcome Fred to the team during such an exciting time for the organization. This appointment reflects our conviction in the global clinical development programs at Verve and in the potential for in vivo gene editing to transform the treatment of cardiovascular disease.”
“It is an amazing opportunity to join a company with such a bold vision to change the treatment paradigm for cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Fiedorek. “The unmet needs in this therapeutic area are significant, and I am excited to partner with this impressive team and to contribute to the advancement of a pipeline of single-course gene editing medicines that have transformational potential.”
Dr. Fiedorek has more than 20 years of experience in clinical development and leadership, primarily in therapeutic areas such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and endocrine/metabolic diseases. Prior to Verve, he held CMO roles at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Intarcia Therapeutics and a stealth company within Atlas Venture. In addition, Dr. Fiedorek served as a senior advisor to Foresite Capital Management. Prior to these roles, he spent 13 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), where he was most recently senior vice president, head of cardiovascular and metabolic development responsible for leading Phase 2 through Phase 4 global development for the cardiovascular and metabolic therapeutic areas. Under his leadership, several new medicines achieved successful marketing authorization, including Eliquis® (apixaban), Farxiga® (dapagliflozin), Onglyza® (saxagliptin) and Myalept® (metreleptin). Prior to BMS, Dr. Fiedorek was international project leader for metabolic drug development at Glaxo-Wellcome. He received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and trained in internal medicine and endocrinology and metabolism at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He also served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
About Verve Therapeutics
Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERV) is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company pioneering a new approach to the care of cardiovascular disease, potentially transforming treatment from chronic management to single-course gene editing medicines. The company’s initial three programs – VERVE-101, VERVE-102, and VERVE-201 – target genes that have been extensively validated as targets for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), a root cause of cardiovascular disease. VERVE-101 and VERVE-102 are designed to permanently turn off the PCSK9 gene in the liver and are being developed initially for heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) and ultimately to treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) patients not at goal on oral therapy. VERVE-201 is designed to permanently turn off the ANGPTL3 gene in the liver and is initially being developed for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) and ultimately to treat patients with refractory hypercholesterolemia. For more information, please visit www.VerveTx.com.
