CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aileron Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of therapeutics called stapled peptides for cancers and other diseases, today announced the appointment of Donald Dougherty as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective June 8th.
Mr. Dougherty joins Aileron with more than 30 years of financial leadership experience. He founded Compound Capital Growth Investments (CCGrowth), LLC, a Boston investment firm focused on biopharmaceutical and other technology sectors, and has served as its president since 1999. Prior to that, Mr. Dougherty held senior positions at several investment firms, including Essex Investment Management (1994 to 1999), where he was a principal, portfolio manager and lead biotechnology analyst, and Putnam Investments (1986 to 1994), where he was a senior vice president and analyst in the Specialty Growth Group, which managed the Voyager, OTC Emerging Growth, and Health Sciences funds. He began his investment career at Endowment Management Research in 1983. Mr. Dougherty received a B.A. from Williams College, an M.B.A. from New York University, and his CPA and CFA early in his career.
“We are delighted to welcome Don to our executive team during this pivotal time for our company,” said Joseph A. Yanchik III, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aileron Therapeutics. “Don’s strong financial leadership experience and insights will be instrumental as we continue to advance ALRN-6924 and grow our pipeline of stapled peptide therapeutics for patients with a variety of cancers and other difficult-to-treat diseases.”
About Aileron
Aileron is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing stapled peptides, a novel class of therapeutics for cancers and other diseases. Stapled peptides are chemically stabilized alpha-helical peptides that are modified to improve their stability and cell penetrability while maintaining high affinity for large protein surfaces. Our lead product candidate ALRN-6924, which is being evaluated in multiple clinical trials, is designed to reactivate p53-mediated tumor suppression by targeting both primary p53 suppressor proteins, MDMX and MDM2. The p53 protein is long known for its central role in preventing the initiation and progression of most solid and liquid tumors, and its inactivation is essential for the formation of virtually all cancers. We believe that ALRN-6924 is the first and only product candidate in clinical development that can inhibit both MDMX and MDM2, which we believe, based on published data and our preliminary clinical results, are equally important in restoring p53 function as the body’s first line of defense against cancer. Our goal is to use our stapled peptide drug platform to create first-in-class therapeutics, like ALRN-6924, that may be able to address historically undruggable targets and complex mechanisms that underlie many diseases with high unmet medical need.
