NextRNA Therapeutics Names Dominique Verhelle as CEO and Expands Leadership Team

Rhea-AI Summary

NextRNA Therapeutics announces the appointment of Dominique Verhelle, PhD, MBA, as CEO, effective immediately. Verhelle, a co-founder of the company, has spearheaded its scientific and corporate strategy since its inception. Under her leadership, NextRNA secured $56M in financing to advance its unique platform aimed at developing small molecule drugs targeting non-coding RNA interactions. Additionally, Jason Katz has been appointed as VP and Head of Drug Discovery, bringing extensive drug discovery experience from IFM Therapeutics and Merck.

Positive

• Dominique Verhelle's appointment as CEO brings over 20 years of R&D and management experience.
• $56M in financing secured under Verhelle's leadership enables further development of NextRNA's platform.
• Jason Katz appointed as VP, Head of Drug Discovery, enhances the company's leadership in drug development.

Negative

• None.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NextRNA Therapeutics, a biotechnology company unlocking the potential of non-coding RNAs to develop novel and transformative therapeutics, announces the appointment of Dominique Verhelle, PhD, MBA as the Chief Executive Officer. Dominique is a co-founder of NextRNA who has led the scientific and corporate strategy since its launch over the past year and a half.

“Dominique is an exceptional leader who brings over 20 years of R&D, company building, and management experiences. She has rapidly built NextRNA’s unique platform and capabilities to identify and develop small molecule drugs to disrupt non-coding RNA-protein interactions. Early achievements at the company have enabled Dominique to secure $56M in financing. Her leadership will be central in our mission to translate pioneering science into first-in-class small molecules for this new emerging field,” said Bobby W. Sandage, Jr. PhD, Lead Director of NextRNA Therapeutics and Managing Director at the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation and Lightchain Capital, LLC who co-led the company’s Series A.

Prior to NextRNA, Dominique was formerly the Head of Academic Innovation, Center for External Innovation at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (NYSE: TAK). She played a significant role accelerating innovation by building partnerships with academic investigators around the world. Dominique was previously a Principal at Third Rock Ventures, where she played an instrumental role in launching Fulcrum Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FULC) and Cedilla Therapeutics. She was a Director Epigenetics at Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) in the Oncology Research Unit. Before that, she held several positions at Celgene where she contributed to the understanding of the mechanism of action of IMiDs and established the internal epigenetic group.

“I am honored to take on the role of CEO at NextRNA,” said Dominique. “I am excited about the tremendous progress we are making on our two lead programs and our proprietary target and drug discovery engine. I look forward to expanding our team and capabilities as we build and advance our pipeline of non-coding RNA-directed medicines.”

NextRNA is also excited to announce the appointment of Jason Katz as VP, Head of Drug Discovery, who joins NextRNA after 5 years as Sr Director of Medicinal Chemistry at IFM Therapeutics and 13 years of drug discovery experience at Merck & Co. At IFM Therapeutics, Jason worked on several programs targeting the innate immune system, including the team that developed a suite of NLRP3 antagonists that were acquired by Novartis and advanced into Phase 2 clinical trials. At Merck, Jason and his teams discovered and advanced into clinical development molecules addressing challenging oncology and immuno-oncology targets.

About NextRNA Therapeutics

NextRNA is a biotechnology company unlocking the potential of non-coding RNAs to develop transformative medicines for multiple diseases. The company is leveraging its proprietary technology platform to identify non-coding RNAs and their interacting proteins responsible for disease, and to develop selective small molecules to disrupt these interactions.

For more information, please visit www.nextrnatx.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220811005431/en/

JS Cleiftie

PR@NextRNA.com

Source: NextRNA Therapeutics

FAQ

What is the significance of Dominique Verhelle becoming CEO of NextRNA?

Dominique Verhelle's appointment as CEO signifies a strategic leadership move for NextRNA, leveraging her extensive R&D experience to drive the company's innovative drug development initiatives.

How much funding has NextRNA secured recently?

NextRNA Therapeutics has secured $56 million in financing to support its drug development efforts.

Who is Jason Katz, and what is his role at NextRNA?

Jason Katz is appointed as VP, Head of Drug Discovery at NextRNA, bringing over 13 years of experience in drug discovery from IFM Therapeutics and Merck.

What is NextRNA's focus in drug development?

NextRNA focuses on developing small molecule drugs that target non-coding RNA-protein interactions to treat various diseases.