Protego Biopharma Appoints John M. Maraganore, Ph.D., to Board of Directors

• Dr. Maraganore brings more than three decades of experience leading discovery, development and commercialization of groundbreaking medicines
  
  
• Founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals led company through global approval and commercialization of its first five RNAi medicines

SAN DIEGO, March 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Protego Biopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to pioneering first-in-class small molecule therapeutics that reprogram protein folding to address systemic amyloid diseases and other protein misfolding disorders, today announced the appointment of John M. Maraganore, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors.

Dr. Maraganore is a highly accomplished life sciences industry leader widely recognized for his contributions to the discovery, development, and commercialization of groundbreaking medicines.

"It's an honor to have a luminary like Dr. Maraganore join Protego's Board of Directors," said Brent Warner, Protego's CEO. "His reputation in the biotech industry precedes him, as he is widely respected for successfully tackling some of the most complex scientific and commercial challenges. His insight and expertise will be invaluable as we move our programs forward."

For more than three decades, Dr. Maraganore has held leadership roles at a range of biotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations and has served as a board member and advisor for numerous public and private biotech companies and industry organizations.

"Targeting protein misfolding pathways is an exciting frontier in biomedical science and holds the promise of new treatments for monogenic protein misfolding diseases that cause a range of illnesses," Dr. Maraganore said. "I'm eager to play a role, especially as Protego advances its lead drug candidate into a pivotal clinical trial for AL amyloidosis, a rare and often fatal condition caused by protein misfolding."

Dr. Maraganore was the founding CEO and a Director of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2021, leading the company from early RNA interference (RNAi) research to the global approval and commercialization of its first five RNAi medicines: ONPATTRO®, GIVLAARI®, OXLUMO®, Leqvio®, and AMVUTTRA®. During his time with the company, he built Alnylam into an industry leader with more than $25 billion in market capitalization and more than 20 pharmaceutical partnerships. He continues to serve on the company's Scientific Advisory Board.

He served in a senior leadership role at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, overseeing oncology, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic franchises, as well as M&A and strategy. Earlier in his career at Biogen, he invented and led the development of ANGIOMAX® (bivalirudin). He also held scientific roles at ZymoGenetics and The Upjohn Company.

He currently serves as Co-CEO of cardiovascular medicine company, Corsera Health, Venture Partner at ARCH Venture Partners, Venture Advisor at Atlas Ventures, Executive Partner at RTW Investments, and Senior Advisor at Blackstone. He is a director of several public companies, including Beam Therapeutics, Kymera Therapeutics, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and chairs or serves on the boards of multiple private biotechnology companies.

Dr. Maraganore serves on the Board of BIO (Chair, 2017–2019; Chair Emeritus), the Termeer Foundation, and several advisory boards supporting innovation in life sciences. He earned his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Chicago.

About Protego Biopharma
Protego Biopharma is a San Diego-based biotech company focused on developing small-molecule drugs that target protein misfolding pathways. By reprogramming cellular processes to restore proper protein function, Protego aims to treat rare and systemic diseases with precision and improved patient outcomes. For more information, visit www.protegobio.com.

SOURCE Protego Biopharma