Vesigen Therapeutics Appoints Industry Veteran Dieter Weinand to Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vesigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering a novel extracellular vesicle delivery technology, today announced the addition of seasoned life sciences executive, Dieter Weinand, to its Board of Directors. Weinand joins Gerald Chan, Chairman, Stephen Bruso, Juergen Eckhardt, Lucio Iannone, and Robert Millman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, on Vesigen's Board.

"We have now confirmed the ARMMs platform as a means to translate validated biology into drug leads," said Millman. "I look forward to working with such an experienced industry veteran to drive Vesigen into being the next big drug development company."

Weinand has an extensive background in the international pharmaceutical and biotech community. In addition to Vesigen's Board, he presently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZielBio and Replimune Group Inc. He was formally the Executive Vice President of Primary Care at Sanofi, while also serving as a member of their Executive Committee. Before moving to Sanofi, he was CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer Pharma AG and member of the Management Board at Bayer AG.  Weinand has also held several roles providing commercial, operational, and corporate strategy at Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Otsuka.

Vesigen is a start-up developing drugs based on its patented ARRDC1-mediated microvesicles (ARMMs) technology, a class of fusogenic extracellular vesicles produced by cells to package and deliver communication signals between cells and tissues. ARMMs possess distinct properties, not found in other classes of extracellular vesicles, such as exosomes, making them better suited for delivering therapeutic payloads. Currently, a wide range of therapeutic agents, including RNAs, proteins, and gene-editing complexes have been packaged into ARMMs and functionally delivered intracellularly in vitro and in vivo.

"This is an exciting time for me to join the Vesigen team as they industrialize their platform and move delivery to the forefront of drug development," said Weinand. "The ARMMs technology presents a unique opportunity to transition innovative technologies into viable drug leads needed within the pharmaceutical industry and ultimately transform patient care."

About Vesigen Therapeutics
Vesigen Therapeutics is a biotechnology company advancing groundbreaking therapies directed to intracellular targets using a fusogenic extracellular vesicle delivery technology. Our patented technology, called ARMMs (ARRDC1 Mediated Microvesicles), is expanding the universe of druggable targets by enabling the delivery of a wide range of payloads, including RNAs (mRNA, shRNA, ribozymes), proteins (signaling proteins, enzymes, antibody fragments), and gene-editing complexes (Cas9/gRNA) directly into the cytoplasm of target cells. The team is committed to leveraging ARMMs technology to develop transformative medicines and address currently unmet medical needs. For additional information visit www.vesigentx.com. 

Contact Vesigen:
Bridgette Chandhoke
Head of Corporate Communications
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Vesigen Therapeutics