CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fulcrum Therapeutics, a company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapies to unlock gene control and treat serious genetic diseases, today announced the appointment of Alan Ezekowitz, MBChB, D.Phil., and James J. Collins, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alan and Jim to the Board. Their proven leadership skills and accomplishments will be invaluable as we build Fulcrum Therapeutics into a premier drug discovery and development enterprise. They are tremendously accomplished leaders who will complement and strengthen our existing Board in several key areas,” said Robert J. Gould, Ph.D., Fulcrum’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Fulcrum’s product engine was created to integrate and accelerate the rapid advances that have reshaped a wide range of biological disciplines, including transcription biology, stem cell biology and computational biology. The integration of these technologies throughout the drug discovery and development process creates the opportunity to deliver on the promise of genomic medicine.
Dr. Gould adds, “Our initial programs are in two genetic diseases, Fragile X Syndrome and FSHD. Alan is a leading physician-scientist in pediatrics who brings a deep passion to modify the course of rare genetic diseases, and more than a decade of drug development success at Merck and now at Abide Therapeutics, where he has rapidly advanced the company’s first drug into clinical development.”
“Jim is a brilliant bioengineer whose pioneering work using network biology approaches in the context of drug discovery will be an invaluable resource as Fulcrum builds out and expands its Product Engine.”
Dr. Ezekowitz is President and CEO of Abide Therapeutics, a company he co-founded in 2011. Formerly, he was the Senior Vice President and Franchise Head for disease areas including bone, respiratory, immunology, endocrine and dermatology at Merck Research Laboratories. Prior to Merck, Dr. Ezekowitz was the Charles Wilder Professor of Pediatrics at the Harvard Medical School and served as the Chief of Pediatric Services at the Mass General Hospital for Children and the Partners Healthcare System. Additionally, he directed the Laboratory of Developmental Immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Ezekowitz is a leader in the field of developmental immunology and has 150 publications. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has served on multiple NIH subcommittees.
Dr. Collins is the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and the Department of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is also affiliated with the Broad Institute and the Wyss Institute. He is a renowned expert in synthetic biology and systems biology, and their applications in biotechnology and medicine. He has received numerous awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Pioneer Award. Dr. Collins is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and is a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Additional background on both Board members can be found here: http://www.fulcrumtx.com/about-us/#board-of-directors
“Fulcrum’s product engine is powered by some of the most exciting biologic advances of the past few decades, including transcription biology, stem cell biology and computational biology,” said Dr. Collins. “I am so pleased about this opportunity to work closely with Fulcrum as we work to fully realize the promise of genomic medicine by regulating gene expression to treat severe disease.”
“Fulcrum is addressing both an urgent need and a first-ever opportunity to target the fundamental causes of devastating genetic diseases,” said Dr. Ezekowitz. “I look forward to helping guide the company as it advances its pipeline and works to make a positive impact in the lives of patients and their families.”
About Fulcrum Therapeutics
Fulcrum Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing new medicines to deliver a new future to patients and their families by transforming gene regulation in disease. Fulcrum’s therapies are based on modulating gene regulation via control of genetic on and off switches of disease genes. Fulcrum, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., was launched by Third Rock Ventures in 2016 and named a “Fierce 15” company later that year. For more information, please visit www.fulcrumtx.com.
