TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Deep Genomics, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) therapeutics company, announced today that Ferdinand Massari, M.D., has been appointed Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Massari is based in Boston and will oversee clinical development and contribute to expanding the company’s AI platform and therapeutic portfolio.
“In a short period of time, our artificial intelligence platform has unlocked dozens of novel therapeutic opportunities for addressing patients with rare genetic disorders,” said Brendan Frey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “As we transition to a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company and grow our portfolio of partnerships, we require a clinical leader with a proven track record in overseeing the development and registration of therapies for rare disorders. Ferdinand is ideal for this role and I am looking forward to working closely with him to advance important new medicines for the patients we serve.”
“I have seen many biotech companies tout the value of computational biology and artificial intelligence,” said Dr. Massari. “Deep Genomics is the first company I’ve encountered in which I see a direct connection between their AI systems and faster and more accurate production of preclinical and clinical candidates. I am excited to join this interdisciplinary team.”
Dr. Massari comes to Deep Genomics with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, he has been the CMO or most senior medical and development leader at over a dozen companies in the United States and Europe. He served as Vice President of Worldwide Medical Affairs at Pfizer, Vice President of Pharmacia, and Director at Merck. Dr. Massari has led teams that have registered treatments for rare diseases as well as ground-breaking therapies for resistant bacterial infections and HIV. He has built and led teams in North America, South America, Europe and Japan. Most recently, he helped to found Kintai Therapeutics out of Flagship Pioneering, and build a team of over 60 researchers in computational biology, metabolomics, anaerobic microbiology, and medicinal chemistry.
Dr. Massari trained in internal medicine after obtaining his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia under a National Health Service Corps scholarship. He received a National Research Service Award to train in clinical and research allergy/immunology at the US NIAID in the laboratory of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, where he studied the immunopathogenesis of HIV infection.
Says Frey, “Ferdinand’s thirty plus years of experience in building and leading clinical development teams, including within startup companies, will be a tremendous asset for Deep Genomics as we continue to explore the potential of our platform and approach to drug development.”
About Deep Genomics. Deep Genomics is a therapeutics company founded on computational biology and artificial intelligence. It’s AI-based systems, datasets, processes and culture enables the intentional design of effective and safe genetic medicines with a speed and a success rate that far exceed what was previously possible. The AI, genome biology, software engineering and preclinical research team is located in the heart of Toronto, Canada, next to the University of Toronto, four research hospitals, three medical research institutes, and the AI research labs of Google, Uber and the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. The clinical development team is based in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.deepgenomics.com and follow us on Twitter at @deepgenomics.
