SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Septerna, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new era of GPCR-targeted drug discovery, today announced the appointments of multiple senior leaders to its drug development team, including Jae Kim, M.D., FACC, as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kim is an accomplished healthcare executive with extensive experience in advancing novel therapies across multiple therapeutic areas and will play a central role in leading the company’s clinical development strategy. Septerna also announced the appointments of Monica Gangal as Vice President of Clinical Operations and Matthew Holdren, Ph.D., DABT, as Vice President of Toxicology.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jae, Monica and Matt to Septerna during a pivotal time as we transition to a clinical-stage company and progress our oral small molecule PTH1R agonist, SEP-786, into Phase 1 development for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism,” said Jeffrey Finer, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Septerna. “This team collectively brings an impressive track record of successfully driving therapeutic programs from nonclinical development through late-stage clinical development across several therapeutic areas. We look forward to utilizing their insights, deep experience at both biotech and pharma companies, and proven leadership capabilities as we continue to advance our portfolio of oral small molecule GPCR-targeted therapies towards our mission of delivering impactful new medicines to patients.”
“I’m honored to join the team at Septerna which has been pioneering a new era in GPCR drug discovery and development, starting with our hypoparathyroidism program,” said Dr. Kim. “Septerna’s platform has already demonstrated its potential to rapidly bring forward a portfolio of promising drug candidates, and I’m eager to leverage my expertise to move these important therapies through clinical development for the benefit of patients in need of better treatment options.”
Dr. Kim joins Septerna from Design Therapeutics, where he served as Chief Medical Officer and led the clinical advancement of the company’s pipeline of small molecule genomic therapeutics. He previously served as Chief Medical Officer at Avidity Biosciences, Vice President of Clinical Development at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and earlier in his career, he served in roles of increasing responsibility in global development at MyoKardia and Amgen. Dr. Kim has contributed to the development and/or approval of multiple drugs including Givlaari (givosiran), Amvuttra (vutrisiran), Leqvio (inclisiran), Camzyos (mavacamten), Corlanor (ivabradine), and Repatha (evolcumab). Dr. Kim is a board-certified cardiologist, and his academic career included serving on the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He earned his B.A. in neurobiology from Cornell University and his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, completed a post-doctoral fellowship in genetics at Harvard Medical School, and completed clinical training in cardiovascular disease at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Monica Gangal (Vice President of Clinical Operations) has extensive experience in leading and executing complex clinical trials across several therapeutic areas, specializing in large late-phase, multi-center global programs. She joins Septerna from Eiger Biopharmaceuticals, where she served as Vice President of Clinical Operations and was responsible for executing multiple clinical programs, including lonafarnib, the largest global Phase 3 registrational trial in hepatitis delta virus. She was previously Vice President of Clinical Operations at both AzurRx Biopharma (now Entero Therapeutics) and Anthera Pharmaceuticals, and earlier in her career she held roles of increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline. Ms. Gangal obtained her B.Sc. in biochemistry and chemical engineering from the University of Ottawa and her M.S. in biotechnology from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Matthew Holdren (Vice President of Toxicology) brings to Septerna more than 20 years of experience in preclinical and nonclinical development with a specialization in regulatory toxicology. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Head of Nonclinical Development at Lycia Therapeutics, where he led drug development strategy and operations for novel molecules heading into clinical development. Prior to joining Lycia, he was Vice President of Nonclinical Development at Tenaya Therapeutics, Senior Director of Toxicology at Genentech, and held roles of increasing responsibility in toxicology at Bristol-Myers Squibb and ZymoGenetics. Dr. Holdren obtained his B.S. in microbiology and Ph.D. in pathology from the University of Washington, and he is a long-standing Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology.
About Septerna
Septerna, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new era of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) oral small molecule drug discovery powered by its proprietary Native Complex PlatformTM. Its industrial-scale platform aims to unlock the full potential of GPCR therapies and has led to the discovery and development of its deep pipeline of product candidates focused initially on treating patients in three therapeutic areas: endocrinology, immunology and inflammation, and metabolic diseases. Septerna was launched in 2022 by preeminent drug discovery company builders and scientific leaders in the biochemistry, structural biology, and pharmacology of GPCRs. For more information, please visit www.septerna.com.
