Goldfinch Bio Expands Leadership Team with World-Class Preclinical and Clinical Expertise to Augment Company's Unprecedented Investigation into the Molecular Drivers of Kidney Disease

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Goldfinch Bio, a company singularly focused on discovering and developing precision therapies to treat patients with kidney disease, today announced that it has expanded its leadership team with the addition of Maria Beconi, Ph.D. as vice president of pharmacology and non-clinical development, and Liron Walsh, M.D. as vice president of translational and clinical nephrology.

"Maria and Liron bring a wealth of preclinical and clinical expertise that is integral to our multidisciplinary approach to bring precision medicines to patients, and I am delighted to welcome them to the team," stated Abbie Celniker, Ph.D., interim chief executive officer of Goldfinch. "They have established themselves as leaders in the field of nephrology, and embody Goldfinch's commitment to transform the treatment of patients with kidney disease."

Maria Beconi, Ph.D., joins Goldfinch with more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development. She has supported over 30 successful international regulatory submissions and registrations in rare and non-rare diseases across many therapeutic areas, including neurodegeneration, diabetes, and kidney disease. María is the former chief scientific officer of Retrophin Inc, a startup biotech, where she successfully built the company's discovery research and early development team, infrastructure and pipeline. María has also held positions of increasing responsibilities at the CHDI Foundation, Abbott, Merck and Upjohn‑Pharmacia. She was a key contributor to the elucidation of the mechanisms of toxicity of a chemical class of DPP-IV inhibitors, which led to the discovery of Sitagliptin. Dr. Beconi received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Michigan State University. 

Liron Walsh, M.D., joins Goldfinch as a trained internist and nephrologist, and as a leader in the clinical development of therapeutics in nephrology and the rare disease space.  Liron has held multiple leadership roles in clinical development, most recently at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, as senior medical director overseeing and advancing clinical programs in Pompe's Disease and Hemophilia A. Prior to BioMarin, Liron was a medical director at Amgen involved in the development of cinacalcet and etelcalcetide, calcimimetic agents for patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.  Liron oversaw multiple clinical studies at various stages of development, most notably, as the clinical lead for two Phase 3 etelcalcetide clinical studies, which ultimately led to a successful approval in the US and the EU. Dr. Walsh received his M.D. from the University of Toronto and completed his Nephrology fellowship at Mount Sinai in NY in 2010. 

About Goldfinch Bio
Goldfinch Bio is a biotechnology company that is singularly focused on discovering and developing precision therapies for patients with kidney disease. Just as the goldfinch has long been a symbol of healing and renewal and was a prominent figure of the Renaissance, Goldfinch Bio is leading a new age of therapeutic discovery to transform the treatment paradigm for people with kidney disease. Goldfinch was launched in 2016 by Third Rock Ventures, and is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.goldfinchbio.com.

Goldfinch Bio Contact
Jennifer Williams
Cook Williams Communications, Inc.
[email protected]
360-668-3701

SOURCE Goldfinch Bio

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