Seres Health Appoints Two New Board Members

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Seres Health, a clinical-stage therapeutics company developing novel treatments for diseases related to the human microbiome, today announced the appointments of Richard N. Kender and Dr. Lorence H. Kim, to the company's board of directors. They each have extensive financial backgrounds which will be beneficial to the Seres team in achieving its business goals.

Richard N. Kender is a retired executive with 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He was most recently the Senior Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Licensing at Merck & Co., Inc. Dr. Lorence H. Kim is the Chief Financial Officer of Moderna Therapeutics. He has deep knowledge of corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

"We are thrilled to have Rich and Lorence on the Seres board," said Dr. Roger J. Pomerantz, President, CEO and Chairman of Seres Health. "They join us at an important time for the company as we move toward late stage clinical testing for SER-109, our lead Ecobiotic® microbial therapeutic, and expand the capabilities of our Microbiome Therapeutics™ platform and fast follower microbiome drugs." 

"I am very pleased to be joining the board of directors of Seres Health at this exciting time," said Mr. Kender.  "Seres has the potential to transform the way microbiome-driven diseases are treated, and I look forward to supporting leadership in the company's next stage of growth."

"Seres is well positioned to rapidly grow its pipeline and develop a broad array of therapeutics that address important medical conditions," said Dr. Kim. "I am eager to contribute to the further development of this innovative company."

Mr. Kender served as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Licensing at Merck from 2000 until his retirement in 2013.  Mr. Kender joined Merck in 1978 and spent his entire professional career at the company in various corporate areas. During his tenure he was actively involved in more than 100 transactions of different sizes and transaction types. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of FoxHollow Technologies Inc., EV3 Inc. and also served on the Board of BioNJ. Mr. Kender holds a BS degree in Accounting from Villanova University and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Prior to joining Moderna, Dr. Kim was a managing director and co-head of the U.S. biotechnology investment banking effort at Goldman Sachs. Dr. Kim joined the healthcare investment banking group at Goldman Sachs in 2000 and was named a managing director in 2008. Dr. Kim earned his AB, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in Biochemical Sciences. He earned his MBA in Healthcare Management as a Palmer Scholar from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

About Seres Health

Seres Health is a clinical-stage therapeutics company focused on discovering and developing Ecobiotic® therapeutic products, novel drugs to treat important diseases by targeting the underlying biology of the human microbiome.  Founded by the Flagship Ventures innovation foundry, VentureLabs, Seres is pioneering the first therapeutics that catalyze a shift to health by augmenting the biology of the microbiome. Current candidates span infectious, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases. Seres recently announced a research alliance with Mayo Clinic and has received over $20 million in funding to date. For more information, please visit www.sereshealth.com.

Contact:

For Seres Health:  Emily Rossi
Ruder Finn
212.593.6431
[email protected]

SOURCE Seres Health