CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Magenta Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to improve and expand the use of curative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for more patients, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of experienced industry leaders to several key roles:
- Charlotte McDonagh to Vice President, Biotherapeutics
- Cindy Driscoll to Vice President, Finance
- Karen Nichols to Vice President, Regulatory and Quality
- Manisha Pai to Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications
- Zoran Zdraveski to Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
“Since our Series B financing in April, we have been thoughtfully building out the Magenta leadership team, and I’m thrilled to welcome Charlotte, Cindy, Karen, Manisha and Zoran as we enter the next exciting chapter in the company’s story. Their expertise will be critical as we continue our rapid growth and progress,” said Jason Gardner, D.Phil., chief executive officer, president and co-founder, Magenta Therapeutics. “All five of these individuals not only bring impressive track records and diverse skill sets to Magenta but also believe very strongly in our patient-driven mission to expand the curative power of stem cell transplant.”
Charlotte McDonagh has more than 15 years of experience in biotherapeutic drug development, from discovery, lead selection and optimization through IND preparation and clinical proof of concept. Charlotte previously served as a vice president at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, where she led discovery and early clinical stage programs. Prior to joining Merrimack, she led therapeutic antibody selection and engineering programs at Seattle Genetics. Charlotte holds a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Leicester and an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Bristol.
Cindy Driscoll brings more than 25 years of fiscal leadership experience to Magenta, including prior experience leading the implementation and management of the finance and administrative functions of early to mid-stage private and public life science companies. Cindy most recently served as the vice president of finance for Tokai Pharmaceuticals, where she oversaw all finance and administrative operations for the publicly traded company, including supporting its 2014 IPO. Cindy also served as controller for Gloucester Pharmaceuticals and Transmolecular, where she supported due diligence efforts resulting in successful acquisitions at both companies. Cindy earned her Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University and an undergraduate degree in economics from the State University of New York at Oswego.
Karen Nichols has more than 25 years of experience in regulatory affairs and quality. She joins Magenta from NantKwest, where she was responsible for regulatory affairs, quality operations, clinical operations, manufacturing operations and process development. Prior to that, she held senior positions in regulatory and quality at PerkinElmer, ViaCell, Genzyme and ImmunoGen. Karen currently serves as the chief regulatory officer of the International Society for Cellular Therapy. She earned her undergraduate degree in biology and her graduate degree in liberal studies from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and holds a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
Manisha Pai joins Magenta with nearly 15 years of experience in investor relations, global strategic communications and public relations in biotechnology, with a particular focus in the fields of hematology and oncology. Manisha most recently served as the head of investor relations and corporate communications at bluebird bio, and prior to that was the head of investor relations and corporate communications at Epizyme. Earlier in her career Manisha served as the head of public relations at Pharmacyclics, where she led external communications for the first two launches of ibrutinib and served as the global head of public relations for Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. Manisha graduated from Amherst College with an undergraduate degree in English.
Zoran Zdraveski joins Magenta with more than 16 years of experience in the legal field in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently he served as vice president and associate general counsel at Epizyme, where he established the legal team and managed all aspects of legal, intellectual property and compliance both before and after the company’s 2013 IPO. Prior to joining Epizyme, Zoran held patent counsel positions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Genzyme. Zoran earned a doctorate in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School as well as graduate and undergraduate degrees in chemistry, and an undergraduate degree in studio art from Southern Methodist University.
About Magenta Therapeutics
Magenta Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to revolutionize stem cell transplantation for patients with immune and blood-based diseases. By creating a platform focused on critical areas of transplant medicine, Magenta Therapeutics is pioneering an integrated approach to stem cell therapies to create patient benefits. Founded by internationally recognized leaders in stem cell transplant medicine, Magenta Therapeutics was launched in 2016 by Third Rock Ventures and Atlas Venture and is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.magentatx.com.
