LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NightstaRx Ltd (“Nightstar”), a biopharmaceutical company specialising in developing gene therapies for inherited retinal dystrophies, today announced that Gregory Robinson, Ph.D., has joined Nightstar as Chief Scientific Officer. He will lead Nightstar’s research programs advancing novel gene therapy candidates to address compelling unmet needs in patients at risk of vision loss and blindness. In his new role, Dr. Robinson will report directly to Nightstar’s CEO David Fellows.
“We are delighted with the addition of Gregory Robinson, whose track record of accomplishment in rare diseases, ophthalmology, and gene therapy is uniquely suited for our programs targeting inherited retinal dystrophies,” commented Nightstar’s CEO David Fellows. “Greg offers key insights and experience that will further accelerate our earlier-stage pipeline of candidates toward the clinic.”
Prior to joining Nightstar, Dr. Robinson served as Chief Scientific Officer of Agilis Biotherapeutics, LLC, responsible for advancing research programs focused on AAV-based gene therapy candidates for the treatment of rare CNS disorders. Previously, he held multiple leadership roles at Shire Plc, where he headed Discovery Research and served as Senior Director in Scientific Licensing evaluating rare disease opportunities. Prior to that, Dr. Robinson was Senior Director of Drug Discovery at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to the development of treatments for age-related macular degeneration (Macugen®, Fovista®). He has also held leadership positions at Pharmacia Ophthalmology and Hybridon, Inc. Dr. Robinson received his B.S. degree in biology from Macalester College, his Ph.D. degree from Boston University, and completed post-doctorate studies at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Robinson has co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and has 13 issued patents.
Dr. Robinson stated, “I am excited to join Nightstar at a time when the Company has established clinical proof of concept for its lead AAV program in choroideremia, as recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and continues to take a lead position in innovating the delivery of AAV treatments to the retina. Nightstar possesses a world-class R&D team, whose collaborative efforts are well-positioned to unlock the potential of these new therapies to treat sight-threatening retinal diseases.”
Notes for Editors:
About Choroideremia
Choroideremia is an inherited X-linked recessive disease which inevitably causes blindness. It is caused by mutations to the CHM gene which encodes Rab-escort protein 1 and affects approximately 1 in 50,000 people. The first symptom of the condition is usually an impairment of night vision which often occurs in early childhood. This is followed by progressive narrowing of the field of vision, as well as a decrease in the ability to see details, culminating in blindness, most commonly in late adulthood. No effective treatment currently exists. For patients interested in participating in choroideremia trials please follow this link: https://www.nightstarx.com/patients/research/
About Nightstar
Nightstar is a private biopharmaceutical company, spun-out from the University of Oxford in 2014, focused on the development of therapies for retinal dystrophies. The Company’s lead programme is a retinal gene therapy for choroideremia, a rare inherited cause of blindness that affects around 1 in 50,000 people. The Company’s lead investors are Syncona LLP, a healthcare investment company taking an active role in identifying, developing, and funding technologies with the potential to significantly impact the healthcare market of the future, and NEA, a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors, and geographies.
