BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tectonic Therapeutic, Inc. a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company transforming the discovery of novel GPCR-targeted therapies (G-Protein Coupled Receptors), today announced the promotion of Senior Vice President, Head of Research, Peter McNamara, PhD, to Chief Scientific Officer as well as the appointments of Barry Rubenstein as Senior Vice President, People and Culture and Washington Alves as Vice President, Biologics Manufacturing.
“Since joining our leadership team just a year ago, Peter has played an instrumental role in building an exceptional research organization that achieved validation of our discovery platform. This well-deserved promotion recognizes his outstanding work and leadership as we transition to the next phase of Tectonic’s growth,” said Alise Reicin, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tectonic Therapeutic.
Dr. McNamara joined Tectonic in May 2021 as Senior Vice President, Head of Research. Prior to joining, Dr. McNamara was Head of Biotherapeutics and Biotechnology at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), where he was responsible for GNF’s platform technologies in biotherapeutics discovery and optimization, protein sciences, structural biology, functional genomics, high throughput screening, automation and engineering. Dr. McNamara also served as Executive Director, Head of General Medical Biology at GNF where he was responsible for the scientific strategies and drug discovery activities pertaining to GNF’s programs across a broad range of disease areas with special emphasis on regenerative medicine and tissue repair. Dr. McNamara earned his PhD and BSc in Biochemistry from the National University of Ireland at Galway and was a post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania where he became a member of the Faculty at the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics in the School of Medicine.
“Tectonic has significantly expanded its team over the past year. I am excited to welcome Barry who will lead our HR department and help foster the collaborative environment we thrive on,” added Dr. Reicin. “Additionally, Washington’s leadership and expertise in GMP manufacturing will be invaluable as we advance our GPCR-targeting candidates into development.”
Mr. Rubenstein has over 20 years of HR experience in the biotechnology sector. Prior to joining Tectonic, Mr. Rubenstein led HR at Kala Therapeutics where he was VP, Human Resources and head of the department. Prior to Kala, Mr. Rubenstein was at AMAG Pharmaceuticals for 9 years, where he rose to the position of Executive Director of HR. He has broad experience in HR, which includes Executive Coaching, Leadership Training, Benefits, Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, Organizational Design, Compensation and Career Development. Mr. Rubenstein holds a BS in Psychology from Boston University and a Master of Science, Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University.
Mr. Alves brings over 20 years of biologics manufacturing and process development experience. Before joining Tectonic, Mr. Alves served as Senior Director, CMC Operations at Gemini Therapeutics where he led technical operations and CMC strategy. He started his career at Pfizer (former Genetics Institute) in commercial manufacturing where he worked on the manufacturing of RECOMBINATE® (recombinant Factor VIII) and then spent several years at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals where he established mammalian expression capabilities, designed and built clinical manufacturing plants, and managed tech transfer and manufacturing of multiple products into production, delivering 170 batches of material to support clinical development. Mr. Alves has a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Massachusetts, Lowell and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Tufts.
About Tectonic Therapeutic
Tectonic, co-founded by Andrew Kruse and Tim Springer of Harvard Medical School, is transforming the discovery of antibodies and other biologic drugs targeting G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) to develop novel therapies for patients inadequately served by current treatments. With our proprietary GEODe platform, we aim to unlock the therapeutic utility of the most difficult receptors in the class, to date considered undruggable with small molecules. For more information, please visit www.tectonictx.com, or follow us on LinkedIn.
