CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Foghorn® Therapeutics Inc. (Foghorn), a company advancing an entirely new class of medicines targeting diseases with genetically determined dependencies in the chromatin regulatory system, today announced an expansion of its senior leadership team with the appointments of Samuel Agresta, M.D., M.P.H., as Chief Medical Officer and Allan Reine, M.D., as Chief Financial Officer.
“We are thrilled to announce the additions of Sam and Allan, as their knowledge and expertise will be critical in further unlocking the vast potential of our Gene Traffic Control™ Product Platform,” said Adrian Gottschalk, President and Chief Executive Officer of Foghorn. “This is a pivotal time in Foghorn’s evolution as our platform has already yielded more than ten programs targeting a wide range of cancers with additional promising targets continually being discovered. We are delighted to have such talented leaders joining Foghorn as we rapidly advance towards the clinic and continue to build the company.”
In his role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Agresta will lead clinical development, clinical operations, and regulatory interactions as Foghorn continues to advance its programs toward the clinic. Dr. Agresta brings to Foghorn deep experience in all aspects of oncology clinical drug development spanning from IND through registration and across multiple cancer therapies. Dr. Agresta previously served as Chief Medical Officer at Infinity Pharmaceuticals and as Vice President and Head of Clinical Development at Agios Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the development and registration of ivosidenib (TIBSOVO®) and enasidenib (IDHIFA®). During his career, he has also served as Medical Director at Genentech and was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida’s Moffit Cancer Center. Dr. Agresta earned an M.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine as well as an M.P.H. from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
As Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Reine will lead Foghorn’s financing strategy and investor relations activities as well as oversee all financial operations. Dr. Reine joins Foghorn from Pieris Pharmaceuticals where he has served since August 2017 as its Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that he was a healthcare portfolio manager at Lombard Odier Asset Management from 2012 through early 2017. Before joining Lombard Odier, Dr. Reine served as a healthcare portfolio manager at various funds, including SAC Capital Advisors and Alexandra Investment Management. Dr. Reine began his career in 2001 at CIBC World Markets where he worked in both biotechnology investment banking and biotechnology equity research. Dr. Reine received his M.D. from the University of Toronto, and his Bachelor of Science in Statistical Sciences from the University of Western Ontario.
“Foghorn is one of the most exciting companies I have come across in my career,” remarked Dr. Reine. “The Company’s unique approach to harnessing the power of its Gene Traffic Control Product Platform to treat cancer and other diseases, combined with a talented team of researchers, is a rare opportunity of which to be a part.”
"There are very few opportunities to develop medicines in an entirely new scientific space and Foghorn is one of them,” said Dr. Agresta. “I am honored to be a part of translating Foghorn's scientific breakthroughs into potential therapies for patients with rare and more common cancers.”
About Foghorn Therapeutics
Through its Gene Traffic Control™ Product Platform, Foghorn® Therapeutics is discovering and developing an unprecedented class of medicines targeting diseases with genetically determined dependencies in the chromatin regulatory system. The Company, currently pre-clinical stage, is rapidly advancing over 10 programs across a wide range of cancers and is beginning to explore other diseases.
The chromatin regulatory system orchestrates the movement of molecules that turn genes on and off. Disease dependencies associated with chromatin dysregulation are estimated to impact approximately 2.5 million cancer patients in G7 countries and chromatin dysregulation is further implicated in neurological, autoimmune, and other serious diseases. Foghorn’s proprietary Gene Traffic Control Product Platform is based on the Company’s unique insights into the chromatin regulatory system and enables highly scalable drug discovery and development efforts.
Foghorn, a Flagship Pioneering® company, was founded in 2016 by Cigall Kadoch, Ph.D., Gerald Crabtree, M.D., and Doug Cole, M.D., of Flagship Pioneering. Learn more about Foghorn at www.foghorntx.com.
