CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Omega Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMGA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a new class of programmable epigenomic mRNA medicines, today announced the appointment of Kaan Certel, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer. Dr. Certel brings to Omega extensive biopharmaceutical industry experience and will be responsible for global business development activities including strategic partnerships.
“Kaan is an accomplished biopharma executive with deep expertise in business development and corporate strategy, and I am delighted to welcome him to Omega’s executive team,” said Mahesh Karande, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omega Therapeutics. “His successful track record in forging strategic partnerships, extensive experience in portfolio strategy, leadership and his deep scientific grounding will be invaluable as we build momentum in developing partnerships to advance our proprietary OMEGA platform and pipeline of programmable epigenomic mRNA therapeutics.”
Dr. Certel added, “I am thrilled to join Omega at such a pivotal time in the Company’s journey towards advancing its versatile approach to precision epigenomic control, which has the potential to address nearly any human disease. The broad applicability of the OMEGA platform provides many exciting opportunities to create high-value strategic business partnerships. I look forward to advancing our collaboration opportunities, contributing to Omega’s corporate growth, and supporting our mission to bring transformative new therapeutics to patients.”
Dr. Certel is a recognized business development leader with over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and academia. Most recently, he served as the Chief Business Officer at BioCity Biopharma, where he led the expansion of the global business development function and coordinated efforts to establish collaborations for the development of pipeline assets. Previously, Dr. Certel was the Global Head of Oncology External Innovation at Sanofi, where he played a pivotal role in strengthening the oncology portfolio by assessing in-licensing opportunities and spearheading numerous strategic collaborations. Notably, he also played a key role in the successful launch of X-Chem Pharmaceuticals’ immuno-oncology spin-off, overseeing scientific strategic development, pipeline generation, project management and talent acquisition. Dr. Certel received a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Iowa and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
About Omega Therapeutics
Omega Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a new class of programmable epigenomic mRNA medicines to treat or cure a broad range of diseases. By pre-transcriptionally modulating gene expression, Omega’s approach enables precision epigenomic control of nearly all human genes, including historically undruggable and difficult-to-treat targets, without altering native nucleic acid sequences. Founded in 2017 by Flagship Pioneering following breakthrough research by world-renowned experts in the field of epigenetics, Omega is led by a seasoned and accomplished leadership team with a track record of innovation and operational excellence. The Company is committed to revolutionizing genomic medicine and has a pipeline of therapeutic candidates derived from its OMEGA platform spanning oncology, regenerative medicine, and multigenic diseases including inflammatory and cardiometabolic conditions.
For more information, visit omegatherapeutics.com, or follow us on X and LinkedIn.
