WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Frequency Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on harnessing the body’s innate biology to repair or reverse damage caused by a broad range of degenerative diseases, today announced new appointments to its leadership team. These executives will lead key research, development and corporate functions as the company advances clinical development of its lead candidate, FX-322, a regenerative therapeutic for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss, and discovery programs in other therapeutic areas where the activation of progenitor cells may be used to create novel regenerative therapies.
Dana C. Hilt, M.D., joins Frequency as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) where he will work to advance new applications for the company’s progenitor cell activation (PCA) technology, initially focusing on the company’s remyelination program in multiple sclerosis. William Chin, M.D., who had been serving as CMO in an interim capacity, will take on new responsibilities at Frequency as Executive Vice President of Clinical and Translational Science, supporting development of the company’s PCA platform, bridging the company’s research in regenerative medicine to translational and clinical science, and building corporate initiatives in medical affairs and advocacy. Other leadership roles announced today include the appointment of Jeff Hrkach, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President, Technology Development and Jason Glashow, as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs.
“The expansion of our leadership team provides us with critical experience as we prepare to initiate a Phase 2a study for FX-322 and work to realize the full potential of our PCA platform,” said David Lucchino, Frequency’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that the strength of our science and the potential of our approach has enabled us to attract key talent as we enter an important period of growth. Dana’s experience as a neurologist and in central nervous system drug development will bolster our efforts to expand our pipeline of medicines for degenerative disease, and working in conjunction with Bill, will provide us a remarkable backbone from translation to the clinic.”
Background on new Frequency leadership
Dana C. Hilt, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Hilt was most recently the Chief Medical Officer at Lysosomal Therapeutics where he was responsible for the clinical indications and development strategies for its drug candidate for Parkinson’s Disease. Prior to joining Lysosomal, Dr. Hilt held senior leadership positions at numerous biopharma companies including FORUM Pharmaceuticals, where he was involved in the development of treatments for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as at Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Ascend Pharmaceuticals, Critical Therapeutics and Amgen, where he was a director of clinical development and established its clinical neuroscience group. Throughout his career, Dr. Hilt has been focused on the development of therapeutics for CNS conditions, as well as oncology, chronic pain, metabolic disorders, and inflammatory conditions. Prior to coming to industry, he was a faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and served for five years on the staff of the National Institutes of Health. He has co-authored more than 100 publications and book chapters on basic and clinical neuroscience. Dr. Hilt earned his M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and trained in Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Neurology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
William Chin, M.D., Executive Vice President, Clinical and Translational Science
Dr. Chin has moved into the role of Executive Vice President, Clinical and Translational Science, having served as Frequency’s interim CMO. Prior to joining Frequency, Dr. Chin was Executive Vice President for Science and Regulatory Advocacy and CMO at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) where he led PhRMA’s continuing efforts in science and regulatory advocacy in the drug discovery and development ecosystem. Prior to PhRMA, he was the Executive Dean for Research, Bertarelli Professor of Translational Medical Science and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chin is an endocrinologist and longstanding faculty member with an extensive bibliography of over 300 papers, chapters and books. During his 25 years on the Harvard Medical School faculty, Dr. Chin was Chief of the Genetics Division in the Department of Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and Professor of Medicine. Before that, he was at Eli Lilly and Company, last as Senior Vice President for Discovery Research and Clinical Investigation. As a pioneering molecular endocrinologist, Dr. Chin embraced the early use of emerging DNA technology to make important discoveries regarding the structure, function and regulation of hormone genes. Dr. Chin received his A.B. in Chemistry from Columbia University and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Jeff Hrkach, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Technology Development
Dr. Hrkach leads technology development and delivery innovation for Frequency’s drug candidates. He has worked in the product development and drug delivery field for over 20 years, most recently as co-head of delivery science at Moderna. He has also held senior positions at BIND Therapeutics and Momenta Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Hrkach holds more than 50 U.S. patents/applications in nanomedicine, drug delivery and polymer science. He received his B.S. from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and was a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Professor Robert Langer at MIT.
Jason Glashow, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Mr. Glashow heads Corporate Affairs at Frequency Therapeutics, which includes communications, investor relations, patient advocacy and policy. He has more than two decades of experience in corporate communications and public affairs, most recently as head of corporate communications at Moderna. Prior to that, he headed corporate communications at Biogen, where he led media relations, executive and internal communications, corporate branding and corporate citizenship programs. Mr. Glashow also spent nearly a decade at the global communications firm Fleishman-Hillard, where he was a senior vice president and senior partner and, for six years, general manager of its Boston office. He holds an M.S. in journalism from Boston University and a B.A. in English literature from Washington University in St. Louis.
About Progenitor Cell Activation
Frequency is pioneering a new class of small-molecule therapeutics designed to activate progenitor cells already present within the body to create healthy functional tissues and organs. This approach may bypass the challenges presented by stem cell therapies by temporarily reactivating progenitor cells already located at the tissue target site and pre-programmed to make specific cell types. Potential applications of its PCA platform include, but are not limited to, diseases of the muscle, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and bone.
About Frequency Therapeutics
Frequency Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on harnessing the body’s innate biology to repair or reverse damage caused by a broad range of degenerative diseases. Our approach, called Progenitor Cell Activation (PCA) uses combinations of small molecule drugs to activate progenitor cells within the body to create functional tissue. Through the transitory activation of these cells, Frequency aims to develop therapies that can enable disease modification without the complexity of genetic engineering. Frequency’s lead product candidate, FX-322, is being developed to regenerate hair cells and treat the underlying cause of sensorineural hearing loss, the most common form of hearing loss. For more information, visit www.frequencytx.com and follow us on Twitter @Frequencytx.
