Two rare disease companies pursuing oligonucleotide therapies to treat rare muscle diseases each named new chief executive officers.
Avidity Biosciences appointed Sarah Boyce president and CEO, as well as a member of its board of directors. Most recently, Boyce served as president and a member of the board of directors of Akcea Therapeutics, where she led commercialization of the company’s rare disease products.
She comes to Avidity after holding executive-level roles at companies including Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Forest Laboratories, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Novartis Oncology, and Roche. She replaces Troy Wilson, the founding CEO of the company who will continue to serve as executive chairman.
Avidity is a privately held biotech company developing antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates that combine the tissue selectivity of monoclonal antibodies and the precision of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics to overcome barriers to the delivery of oligonucleotides and target genetic drivers of disease. The company is developing a pipeline of therapeutic candidates to treat diseases including myotonic dystrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and other disorders.
Dyne Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing targeted therapies for patients with serious muscle diseases, said it named Joshua Brumm as president and CEO.
Like Avidity, Dyne is advancing therapies for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Dyne’s platform technology delivers oligonucleotides and other molecules to skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle with precision to restore muscle health.
Brumm most recently served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Kaleido Biosciences, where he led the company’s financings including its initial public offering and helped bring the lead program into phase 2 development. He replaces Romesh Subramanian, who remains with the company as chief scientific officer.
Prior to joining Kaleido, Brumm was COO and CFO at Versartis, where he oversaw the company’s financial strategy including the successful completion of its IPO, played an integral role in product strategy, and helped negotiate the company’s first product partnership. In addition to holding other executive finance positions Brumm served in investment banking roles at Citigroup Global Markets and Morgan Stanley.
Photo: Avidity Biosciences CEO Sarah Boyce and Dyne Therapeutics CEO Joshua Brumm
Author: Rare Daily Staff
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