Sionna Therapeutics Announces the Appointment of Dr. Marcella Kuhlman Ruddy and Dr. Jo Viney to its Board of Directors

- Dr. Ruddy, a CMO and pulmonologist, and Dr. Viney, a CEO and scientific leader, join Sionna with decades of experience in drug development -

BOSTON, Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sionna Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to revolutionize the current treatment paradigm for cystic fibrosis (CF) by developing novel medicines that normalize the function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, today announced the appointment of Marcella Kuhlman Ruddy, M.D., and Jo Viney, Ph.D., to the company's Board of Directors.

"We are very excited to welcome Dr. Jo Viney and Dr. Marcie Ruddy to our Board of Directors," said Mike Cloonan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sionna. "Jo brings exceptional expertise in advancing therapeutics and strong biotech leadership, while Marcie offers deep experience, a passionate commitment to CF care and impressive leadership in drug development. Their perspectives will be important as we continue to develop our novel nucleotide-binding domain 1 (NBD1) stabilizers and other differentiated product candidates in clinical development for the treatment of CF."

Dr. Ruddy is the Chief Medical Officer of Tectonic Therapeutic, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on therapeutic proteins and antibodies that modulate G-protein coupled receptors. She also serves on the board of directors of Upstream Bio, Inc. Dr. Ruddy has over 20 years of experience in drug development, including a leadership role as Vice President of Clinical Development, Immunology at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She is a trained pulmonologist who founded and led the Adult Cystic Fibrosis center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Ruddy began her drug development career at Merck & Co Inc. and has also served on the board of directors of Polarean, Inc. Dr. Ruddy received a B.A. in history from Princeton University and an M.D. and an M.S. from Washington University, School of Medicine, St. Louis.

Dr. Viney is a co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Seismic Therapeutic, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on autoimmunity biotherapeutics. She currently serves on the boards of directors of Seismic Therapeutic and LabCentral, Inc. Previously, Dr. Viney co-founded and served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Pandion Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Merck & Co Inc.). She has also served on the boards of directors of Graphite Bio, Inc. (now LENZ Therapeutics, Inc.), Harpoon Therapeutics, Inc. and Finch Therapeutics Group, Inc. Dr. Viney received a B.Sc. with Honors in biophysical science from the University of East London and a Ph.D. from the University of London, St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School.

"There remains a clear need for additional treatment options for patients with CF," said Dr. Ruddy. "I'm thrilled to work with Sionna's team as they focus on advancing Sionna's pipeline of NBD1 stabilizers, which could provide a critical mechanism with the potential to address that unmet need and unlock meaningful improvements in clinical outcomes for patients."

"Sionna stands out with its pioneering research on NBD1 and the clinical progress the company has made with both NBD1 and the complementary correctors," said Dr. Viney. "It is an exciting time to join the company as it executes on its plans to advance these novel compounds through development, with the goal of delivering these innovative therapies to the CF patients who need them."

About Sionna Therapeutics
Sionna Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to revolutionize the current treatment paradigm for CF by developing novel medicines that normalize the function of the CFTR protein. Sionna's goal is to deliver differentiated medicines for people living with CF that can restore their CFTR function to as close to normal as possible by directly stabilizing CFTR's NBD1, which the company believes is central to potentially unlocking meaningful improvements in clinical outcomes and quality of life for people with CF. Leveraging over a decade of the co-founders' extensive research on NBD1, the company is advancing a pipeline of novel small molecules engineered to correct the defects caused by the F508del genetic mutation, which resides in NBD1. Sionna is also developing a portfolio of complementary CFTR modulators that are designed to work synergistically with its NBD1 stabilizers to improve CFTR function. For information about Sionna, visit https://www.sionnatx.com/.

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SOURCE Sionna Therapeutics