NEW
YORK, July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- Envisagenics, an AI-driven RNA splicing therapeutics
company, today announced the appointment of Kalpana Merchant, Ph.D. to its Board of
Directors. Dr. Merchant's appointment comes on the heels of
Envisagenics' recent Series B financing announcement.
Dr. Merchant brings three decades of experience in drug
discovery and development with specialized expertise in
translational approaches to de-risk drug development for
neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
disease. She also brings advisory and operational experience that
spans private startups to publicly traded biopharmaceutical
firms.
As Chief Scientific Officer for Tailored
Therapeutics-Neuroscience at Eli Lilly, Dr. Merchant led a team
developing personalized therapies and associated biomarkers for the
neuroscience portfolio. She currently serves as CSO at Retromer
Therapeutics, pioneering a new class of disease-modifying therapies
for Alzheimer's disease. She is President and Chief Scientific
Officer of TransThera Consulting, an advisory and investment firm
she founded. In that capacity, Dr. Merchant works with a number of
privately funded biopharmaceutical companies to help develop drugs
for ALS, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. She has been
a senior advisor to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's
Research for more than 20 years, appointed to the
governor-sanctioned Oregon Innovation Council to spur innovation in
the state and has served on the council and advisory boards at the
National Institutes of Health. Additionally, she is an Adjunct
Professor of Neurology at the Feinberg School
of Medicine at Northwestern University.
"Dr. Merchant's advisory, operational, and drug discovery and
development experience provide invaluable insight to Envisagenics
as we advance our first asset into the clinic," said
Maria Luisa Pineda, Ph.D.,
Envisagenics co-founder and CEO. "Her addition to our board also
supports the planned expansion of the company's developmental
pipeline, including disease-modifying anti-sense oligonucleotides
for neurodegenerative diseases."
"I am delighted to join the Envisagenics Board and to work with
the leadership team as the company continues to advance its
innovative medicines to patients living with serious
neurodegenerative disorders," said Dr. Merchant. "I look forward to
sharing my insights and supporting the company as it continues to
lead the field of AI-informed personalized therapies."
About Envisagenics
Envisagenics is an AI-driven
biotechnology company harnessing the therapeutic potential of RNA
splicing. Over 95% of human genes undergo alternative splicing, a
process generating multiple RNA isoforms from a single gene.
Alternative splicing holds the key to understanding and targeting
over 370 diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative
disorders. SpliceCore™ boasts an impressive 400-fold increase
in transcriptomic search space compared to conventional tools for
target identification. Leveraging our extensive map of over 14
million RNA splicing events, SpliceCore enables the discovery of
disease-specific targets, paving the way for the rational design
and development of immunotherapies and RNA therapeutics.
Envisagenics collaborates closely with biopharmaceutical
companies and academic institutions to elevate their drug discovery
capabilities and has partnered with the Lung Cancer Initiative at
Johnson & Johnson, Biogen and Bristol Myers Squibb. Founded in 2014 as a spin-out from
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Envisagenics is a woman- and
minority-led organization, with several grants from esteemed
institutions like the National Institute of General Medical
Sciences and the National Cancer Institute.
For more information on our groundbreaking work, connect with us
on Twitter and LinkedIn or visit https://www.envisagenics.com.
Media Contact
Katie
Morris, Ph.D.
ENTENTE Network
katiemorris@ententeinc.com
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SOURCE Envisagenics, Inc.