- Brings foundational experience in mRNA and LNP therapeutics
given prior executive leadership roles at Moderna &
Alnylam
- Will take an active role in expanding partnerships with
biopharma
- Integrated partnership offering to customers remains etherna's
key differentiator – Proprietary customized mRNA chemistry and
lipid nanoparticles (customized LNPs) expertise combined with GMP
process knowhow
NIEL, Belgium, July 10,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- etherna ("the Company"), a
leading mRNA technologies company, today announced the appointment
of Antonin (Tony) de Fougerolles as
Chair. Tony has served as an Independent Board Member since
January 2023. Outgoing Chair,
Marijn Dekkers will remain on the
Board. In addition to his role as Chair, Tony will also take an
active consultancy role for the Company.
Bernard Sagaert, etherna
CEO said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be able to work
more closely with Tony. His vast experience, connections and
strategic vision in the field will further accelerate the
development and success of the Company. I also want to thank Marijn
for the close collaboration over the last 8 months, which has been
inspirational."
Tony de Fougerolles, etherna
Chair, added: "Over the last 18 months I have seen first-hand
how the cLNPs and mRNA manufacturing expertise that etherna
has developed is world leading and impressive in its quality,
breadth, and novelty. The recently announced partnership with
Almirall is clear recognition of this. I am excited to accept the
role of Chair and look forward to actively helping Bernard and his
talented team take full advantage of the exciting opportunities to
help our partners bring novel mRNA-based therapeutics to
patients."
Marijn Dekkers, etherna Independent Board Member, noted:
"Tony has already proven to be an extremely valued addition to the
Board and therefore I am delighted to welcome him as my successor.
His combination of scientific and entrepreneurial excellence as
well as clear strategic vision will enable him, I believe, to steer
etherna successfully through the next stage of its
development."
Tony de Fougerolles has
foundational experience in both mRNA therapeutics and LNPs
specifically through his roles at Moderna and Alnylam.
He has nearly 25 years of biotech R&D experience in building
out drug pipelines, and he has played a key role in developing and
successfully advancing 3 new drug modalities to the market (mRNA,
RNAi, single domain antibodies) and in helping build several
multi-billion-dollar companies from start-up stage.
As founding Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Moderna
Therapeutics, he pioneered modified mRNA as a new therapeutic
and vaccine drug modality and the mRNA chemistry and delivery
systems that form the basis of the approved COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
Prior to that, as VP of Research at Alnylam, he helped
develop RNA interference (RNAi) as a new drug modality, including
overseeing development of the 1st approved LNP-based
RNAi delivery system and the development of several approved RNAi
drugs including inclisiran. Author of over 60 scientific
publications and an inventor on over 110 issued US patents, Tony
has also a "Belgian" connection, from his time as CSO at Ablynx
(now Sanofi) where he played a key role in the approval of the
1st single domain antibody drug, caplacizumab. Most
recently, Tony was CEO of Evox Therapeutics where he built
out an exosome-focused biotech, raised over $140m in equity financing, and entered into
pharma partnerships with combined upfronts > $60m and total deal value >$2 billion. Tony obtained his PhD in Immunology
from Harvard University.
Notes to Editors
About etherna
etherna is an mRNA technology platform company with fully
integrated capabilities including mRNA construct design and
optimization, coupled with specialized expertise in designing and
manufacturing customized lipid nanoparticles (cLNP) formulations
tailored for the prevention and treatment of various pathological
states, providing end-to-end solutions for next generation mRNA
therapeutics. The company offers this knowledge and know-how in a
partnership model to drive discovery and solve challenges for
partners across LNP formulation and RNA chemistry to enable
delivery of cost-effective, differentiated and efficacious RNA
therapeutics.
Logo:
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2455865/etherna_Logo.jpg
For further information, please contact:
Bernard Sagaert
etherna
media@etherna.be
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SOURCE etherna