WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Macrolide Pharmaceuticals, which is currently developing novel therapies to fight serious infections, today announced a leadership expansion that adds significant expertise in drug development, clinical strategy, finance and business development to the executive team. Thomas McCauley, Ph.D., who recently was the chief scientific officer at Translate Bio, joins Macrolide as chief scientific officer. Sumit Aggarwal, MBA, who recently was the chief financial officer at Progenity, Inc., will take on the role of chief business and financial officer.
“We are deepening our expertise and adding transformative leadership at an important moment for Macrolide Pharma,” said Mahesh Karande, the company’s president and CEO. “We are committed to developing pioneering antibiotic compounds that are effective against some of the world’s most dangerous bacterial threats. We are also eager to expand our reach as we seek to address other pressing critical medical needs across a spectrum of conditions and diseases. Tom and Sumit bring tremendous insights and experience to our team, and we’re delighted to have them on board.”
Dr. McCauley comes to Macrolide from Translate Bio (formerly RaNA Therapeutics), where as chief scientific officer he led scientific strategy and research and development. In that role, he also advanced Translate’s oligonucleotide and mRNA programs in multiple disease areas and advanced the lead program in cystic fibrosis into the clinic. Prior to Translate, Dr. McCauley served as vice president and head of global nonclinical development at Shire, where he led the nonclinical development, clinical bioanalysis and biomarker departments. He has also authored more than 40 scientific publications, book chapters and patents. Dr. McCauley holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cornell University and received his doctorate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“Macrolide is breaking new ground in developing novel antibiotics for serious Gram-negative infections,” Dr. McCauley said. “I am thrilled to join forces with this talented team to address this grave public health challenge and serious needs in critical disease areas that Macrolide plans to tackle through an expanded research and partnership program.”
Mr. Aggarwal brings to his new role more than 20 years of experience in business building, investment management and management consulting. He most recently served as acting president and CFO of Progenity, Inc., where he helped raise $125 million in capital, prepared the company for an IPO and built out profitable lab operations while substantially increasing investments in research and development. Earlier in his career, he was a health care portfolio manager and analyst at Adage Capital Management and an associate principal at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Aggarwal earned his MBA with distinction from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He received his undergraduate degree, with honors in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
“It is exciting to join a growth-focused company that is advancing and expanding its research program,” said Mr. Aggarwal. “Macrolide has an aggressive vision for addressing serious medical needs, and I look forward to being part of that effort.”
About Macrolide Pharmaceuticals
Macrolide Pharmaceuticals is
currently developing next-generation macrolides that are first-in-class
with Gram-negative activity and will have broad applicability across
multiply resistant infectious diseases and beyond. The company was
founded in 2015 with a fully-synthetic technology platform licensed from
Harvard University. The company has transformed this class from its
traditional Gram-positive spectrum to include multi-drug resistant (MDR)
Gram-negative pathogens. Macrolide is supported and advised by
world-class investors, partners, board members, scientific advisors and
funding organizations.
Macrolide is headquartered in Watertown, Mass. For more information, please visit www.macrolide.com.
