MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ReCode Therapeutics, a clinical-stage genetic medicines company using tissue-specific delivery to power the next wave of mRNA and gene correction therapeutics, today announced two additions to its scientific advisory board (SAB) that will further deepen the company’s expertise in gene correction and mRNA drug discovery and development.
The company has appointed:
Andrew Bellinger, M.D., Ph.D.: Dr. Bellinger brings a deep understanding of gene correction, genetic payload discovery and rare disease drug development experience to ReCode’s SAB. Most recently, he served as chief scientific officer at Verve Therapeutics. Just prior, he co-founded and served as chief scientific officer of Lyndra Therapeutics, where he helped to build the company’s research team and was involved in the company’s key external partnerships.
Katalin Karikó, Ph.D.: Dr. Karikó is a world-renowned biochemist and researcher who was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine alongside Drew Weissman, M.D., Ph.D., for their discoveries that enabled the use of modified mRNA, which was critical for the success of COVID-19 vaccines, and has laid the groundwork for the development of mRNA therapeutics. Dr. Karikó also has a long-standing interest in developing therapies for cystic fibrosis and other genetic diseases.
“It’s an honor to welcome Dr. Karikó and Dr. Bellinger to our scientific advisory board,” said Shehnaaz Suliman, M.D., MBA, M.Phil., chief executive officer of ReCode Therapeutics. “Their unparalleled expertise in mRNA and gene correction drug discovery and development brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will significantly enhance our ability to advance new therapies for rare genetic diseases. Their guidance will be instrumental in accelerating much-needed treatments to patients who have long been underserved.”
Drs. Bellinger and Karikó join existing SAB members:
Dan Siegwart, Ph.D.: Dr. Siegwart is the chair of ReCode’s SAB. Dr. Siegwart is a co-founder of ReCode Therapeutics and currently serves as the W. Ray Wallace Distinguished Chair in Molecular Oncology Research and associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is a pioneer in designing delivery technologies for genetic medicines, having developed the company’s Selective Organ Targeting (SORT) lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform in his lab.
Justin Hanes, Ph.D.: Dr. Hanes is the Lewis J. Ort professor of ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, with secondary appointments in chemical & biomolecular engineering, environmental health sciences, neurosurgery and oncology. His research focuses on the delivery of genetic medicines, characterization of mucus and design, and testing of nanoparticles that can penetrate mucus barriers.
Eric Olson, Ph.D.: Dr. Olson is the founding chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and directs the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine and the Wellstone Center for Muscular Dystrophy Research. Dr. Olson and his team discovered many of the genes that control heart and muscle development and disease. His most recent work has provided a new strategy for correcting Duchenne muscular dystrophy-causing mutations using CRISPR gene editing.
The company also benefits from two senior scientific advisors who provide strategic counsel and direction to ReCode’s research organization:
John Englehardt, Ph.D.: Dr. Englehart currently serves as the director for Gene Therapy and Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Research in his laboratory focuses on the molecular basis of cystic fibrosis disease pathologies and the development of animal models and gene therapies for this disorder.
Elliott Sigal, M.D., Ph.D.: Dr. Sigal currently serves as co-chair of the scientific advisory board for Amgen, Inc. and as a senior advisor to New Enterprise Associates, Inc. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Adaptimmune Therapeutics, Vir Biotechnology, Surface Oncology, Tessera Therapeutics and Affinia Therapeutics. He was previously executive vice president of Bristol Myers Squibb, where he also served as chief scientific officer and president of research and development from 2004 until 2013.
“This is an exciting time for ReCode, particularly as we move our home-grown therapeutic programs into the clinic and begin treating patients,” said David Lockhart, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of ReCode Therapeutics. “At the same time, we are advancing our discovery and platform development efforts. By leveraging the expertise of our new and existing scientific advisory board members and senior advisors, and adding deeper disease-specific insights, we aim to develop more tailored genetic medicines for people living with conditions like cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia."
About ReCode Therapeutics
ReCode Therapeutics is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company using precision delivery to power the next wave of mRNA and gene correction therapeutics. ReCode’s proprietary Selective Organ Targeting (SORT) lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform enables highly precise and targeted delivery of genetic medicines directly to the organs, tissues, and cells implicated in disease, enabling improved efficacy and potency. ReCode’s lead programs include RCT1100 for the treatment of primary ciliary dyskinesia caused by pathogenic mutations in the DNAI1 gene, and RCT2100 for the treatment of the 10% of people with cystic fibrosis who have genetic mutations in the CFTR gene that do not respond to currently approved CFTR modulators. RCT1100 and RCT2100 are inhaled disease-modifying mRNA-based therapies formulated using the SORT LNP delivery platform. ReCode is expanding its pipeline to develop potential therapies for other rare and common genetic diseases, including musculoskeletal, central nervous system, liver, and infectious disease indications.
ReCode has been recognized by the San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley Business Journal as a Best Place to Work. For more information, visit www.recodetx.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
