ATHENS, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ArunA Bio, a leader in the development of exosomes for the treatment of CNS and neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the appointment of Mark Sirgo, Pharm.D. as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Sirgo joins the company with more than 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience and is most recognized for building the fully integrated pharmaceutical company, BioDelivery Sciences International (Nasdaq: BDSI).
With the appointment of Dr. Sirgo to the senior leadership team, Dr. Steven Stice, co-founder, current CEO and Chief Scientific Officer, will fully focus on directing the company’s research and scientific development efforts. ArunA continues the development of its novel neural exosome platform to optimize the delivery of siRNAs, antibodies, genes and small molecules across the blood brain barrier to improve outcomes for patients with CNS and neurodegenerative disorders including genetic and rare diseases.
“Mark is joining ArunA Bio at a pivotal time in the company’s evolution as we move toward clinical trials and industry collaborations,” said Dr. Stice. “Mark brings a wealth of pharmaceutical industry experience and a proven track record of successfully building a portfolio of products, raising capital, securing industry partnerships and progressing products through FDA approval and commercialization. With the addition of Mark to the leadership team, I am able to focus completely on my true passion—directing research and scientific development. We welcome Mark wholeheartedly to the ArunA family.”
Dr. Sirgo most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of BioDelivery Sciences, a publicly listed fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus in pain/CNS drug development and commercialization. In this role, he successfully raised over $600 million through equity, debt and partnerships and utilized the company’s drug delivery platform to progress three products through FDA approval and commercialization. Prior to joining BioDelivery Services, he spent 16 years in a variety of clinical and commercial leadership positions at Glaxo, Glaxo Wellcome, and GlaxoSmithKline, including Vice President of International OTC Development and Vice President of New Product Marketing. Dr. Sirgo received his BS in Pharmacy from The Ohio State University and his Doctorate in Pharmacy from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.
“I look forward to working closely with Steve, the ArunA team and the Board in raising the visibility of the company by advancing their exciting and novel neural exosome technology into a portfolio of therapeutics both internally and through industry partnerships,” said Dr. Sirgo. “ArunA Bio has the opportunity to dramatically improve the outcomes for patients suffering from serious and debilitating CNS diseases and cancers by overcoming the challenges of delivering products across the blood brain barrier. I look forward to contributing to the growth and expansion of the company.”
About ArunA Bio
ArunA Bio is revolutionizing
neurotherapeutic development with our neural exosome therapeutic
platform. The inherent ability of our proprietary neural exosomes to
cross the blood brain barrier enables drugs and drug combinations to
naturally target cells and treat patients with a range of neurological
disorders. Our ability to reliably manufacture exosomes at scale
addresses one of the biggest challenges in the exosome field today. www.arunabio.com
