NEW YORK, July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Envisagenics, an AI-driven RNA splicing therapeutics company, today announced the appointment of Kalpana Merchant, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Merchant's appointment comes on the heels of Envisagenics' recent Series B financing announcement.
Dr. Merchant brings three decades of experience in drug discovery and development with specialized expertise in translational approaches to de-risk drug development for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. She also brings advisory and operational experience that spans private startups to publicly traded biopharmaceutical firms.
As Chief Scientific Officer for Tailored Therapeutics-Neuroscience at Eli Lilly, Dr. Merchant led a team developing personalized therapies and associated biomarkers for the neuroscience portfolio. She currently serves as CSO at Retromer Therapeutics, pioneering a new class of disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease. She is President and Chief Scientific Officer of TransThera Consulting, an advisory and investment firm she founded. In that capacity, Dr. Merchant works with a number of privately funded biopharmaceutical companies to help develop drugs for ALS, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. She has been a senior advisor to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research for more than 20 years, appointed to the governor-sanctioned Oregon Innovation Council to spur innovation in the state and has served on the council and advisory boards at the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Professor of Neurology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.
"Dr. Merchant's advisory, operational, and drug discovery and development experience provide invaluable insight to Envisagenics as we advance our first asset into the clinic," said Maria Luisa Pineda, Ph.D., Envisagenics co-founder and CEO. "Her addition to our board also supports the planned expansion of the company's developmental pipeline, including disease-modifying anti-sense oligonucleotides for neurodegenerative diseases."
"I am delighted to join the Envisagenics Board and to work with the leadership team as the company continues to advance its innovative medicines to patients living with serious neurodegenerative disorders," said Dr. Merchant. "I look forward to sharing my insights and supporting the company as it continues to lead the field of AI-informed personalized therapies."
About Envisagenics
Envisagenics is an AI-driven biotechnology company harnessing the therapeutic potential of RNA splicing. Over 95% of human genes undergo alternative splicing, a process generating multiple RNA isoforms from a single gene. Alternative splicing holds the key to understanding and targeting over 370 diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. SpliceCore™ boasts an impressive 400-fold increase in transcriptomic search space compared to conventional tools for target identification. Leveraging our extensive map of over 14 million RNA splicing events, SpliceCore enables the discovery of disease-specific targets, paving the way for the rational design and development of immunotherapies and RNA therapeutics.
Envisagenics collaborates closely with biopharmaceutical companies and academic institutions to elevate their drug discovery capabilities and has partnered with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, Biogen and Bristol Myers Squibb. Founded in 2014 as a spin-out from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Envisagenics is a woman- and minority-led organization, with several grants from esteemed institutions like the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Cancer Institute.
For more information on our groundbreaking work, connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn or visit https://www.envisagenics.com.
Media Contact
Katie Morris, Ph.D.
ENTENTE Network
[email protected]
SOURCE Envisagenics, Inc.
Share this article