MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ethris GmbH, a pioneer in the emerging field of messenger RNA (mRNA) therapies, announced today the addition of Dr. Leon Chen, Venture Partner with OrbiMed, Dr. Thomas Chalberg, COO of Oncorus, Inc. and Justin Duckworth, Managing Partner with HS Life Sciences, to the Ethris Board of Directors.
“Ethris is pleased to welcome Dr. Chen, Dr. Chalberg and Mr. Duckworth to our Board of Directors where they will be able to contribute their industry expertise to facilitate the further expansion and advancement of the company,” said Dr. Carsten Rudolph, CEO of Ethris. “We look forward to working with them as Ethris continues to unlock the promising potential of mRNA therapeutics.”
Dr. Leon Chen is a Venture Partner with OrbiMed. Prior to joining OrbiMed, Dr. Chen was the co-founder of KAI Pharmaceuticals where he built the company as the first employee. He held responsibilities for research, intellectual property and business development before Amgen acquired KAI in 2012. He was previously an Entrepreneur in Residence at Venrock and most recently was a Partner at Skyline Ventures where he served on the board of several biotech and diagnostic companies. Dr. Chen has a B.A. in Biochemistry from U.C. Berkeley, a Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from Stanford and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Dr. Thomas Chalberg currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Oncorus, Inc., an early-stage immuno-oncology company using oncolytic viruses for the treatment of glioblastoma and other malignancies. Previously, Dr. Chalberg founded and served as the CEO of Avalanche Biotechnologies, a leader in the discovery and development of gene therapies for blinding diseases. During his tenure at Avalanche, the company raised more than $330 million in financing, including one of the industry’s top IPOs in 2014. Dr. Chalberg has also served as a Director of DigiSight Technologies, Group Product Manager at Genentech, Inc and Consultant at ZS Associates. Dr. Chalberg authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in top journals including Nature Biotechnology and The Lancet, and is named on more than 60 issued and pending patents. Dr. Chalberg holds a B.A. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University, a Ph.D. in Genetics from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Justin Duckworth has spent the last 16 years working for venture capital funds within life sciences, currently as Managing General Partner at HS LifeSciences. Mr. Duckworth is also a member of the board of Transimmune AG, Germany. Prior to HS LifeSciences, Mr. Duckworth was a Partner at Nomura Phase4 Ventures in London, an investment advisor at HBM Partners in Zurich and a Vice President in the Private Equity group of Dresdner Kleinwort Capital in London. Prior to 2000, Mr. Duckworth worked in a number of roles within Arthur Andersen in London and gained his ACA qualifications. He is a member of the ICAEW and has an MA (Oxon) in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford, UK.
About Ethris GmbH:
Ethris is paving a new path from genes to therapeutic proteins using its proprietary messenger RNA technology. Developed in-house, our integrated platform enables the discovery, design and development of transcript therapies that restore missing functions in patients’ cells and tissues. We will advance transcript therapies to transform the treatment of disease independently and with our partners. For more information, visit www.ethris.com.
