BRISBANE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gate Bioscience, a biotechnology company developing a new class of small molecule medicines to eliminate disease-causing proteins at their source, today announced the appointment of Jeff Hatfield to its Board of Directors. Mr. Hatfield brings more than three decades of successful industry leadership across biotech and pharmaceuticals.
“We are thrilled that Jeff is joining Gate’s Board of Directors,” said Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gate. “Jeff has built and led multiple chemistry platform companies based on novel cutting-edge approaches, leading to many first-in-class programs in critical disease areas and successful outcomes for patients and shareholders alike. We look forward to benefiting from his expertise as we develop our Molecular Gate medicines.”
Mr. Hatfield’s significant platform company leadership experience includes serving as Chief Executive Officer of Vividion Therapeutics, a pioneer in the development of chemoproteomics. At Vividion, he led the development of a portfolio of first-in-class oncology and immunology programs before the company’s 2021 acquisition by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which delivered $1.5 billion upfront and $0.5 billion in CVR earn-outs to shareholders. He also served as CEO of Vitae Pharmaceuticals, where he built an early innovator position in AI/ML computational drug discovery before that company’s 2016 acquisition by Allergan for $640 million. Mr. Hatfield currently serves as Chair of ROME Therapeutics and Vividion, as well as serving on the board of directors for VIR Biotechnology and the advisory boards of Lime Therapeutics and the Harvard Business School’s Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hatfield held senior leadership roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, including Senior Vice President, Immunology; President, BMS-Canada; and Head of U.S. Market Access. He earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. from the Purdue University College of Pharmacy.
“Gate’s new therapeutic mechanism – selectively blocking the secretory translocon with small molecules to potently eliminate extracellular disease-causing proteins – is unique and powerful,” said Mr. Hatfield. “This science has the potential to quickly identify high-value, first-in-class therapeutics in the inflammatory, cancer and neurodegenerative fields. This is an exciting time to join the company, with the platform fully operational and multiple discovery programs rapidly taking shape. I look forward to working with Gate to bring new therapies to patients in need.”
Mr. Hatfield joins Gate’s Board of Directors that includes Dr. Mata-Fink, Thomas Daniel, M.D., former President of Global Research and Early Development at Celgene, Clare Ozawa, Ph.D., Managing Director at Versant Ventures, and Vineeta Agarwala, M.D. Ph.D., General Partner at a16z Bio + Health.
About Gate Bioscience
Gate Bioscience is creating a new class of medicines called Molecular Gates, small molecules that selectively eliminate harmful extracellular proteins at their origin: inside the cell. Every extracellular protein—of which there are more than 4,000—must pass through a single channel in the cell before it can be secreted into the body. Molecular Gates recognize and block specific disease-causing proteins from exiting the channel, causing them to be degraded by the cell instead of being secreted. By eliminating the harmful protein at the source, Gate aims to eliminate the disease for patients. Founded in 2021, Gate is backed by Versant Ventures, a16z Bio + Health, ARCH Venture Partners, and GV. Learn more at www.gatebio.com.
