CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exicure, Inc., the pioneer in gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic drugs utilizing three-dimensional spherical nucleic acid (SNA™) constructs, today announced the appointment of Matthias Schroff, Ph.D., to Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Schroff is a biotechnology industry veteran who brings more than 15 years of senior leadership experience within global biopharmaceutical companies where he gained deep scientific and clinical experience in immuno-oncology, TLR9 biology and broad clinical program management.
“We are fortunate to welcome Matthias, an established leader with a proven track record in clinical development, to Exicure’s leadership team,” said Dr. David Giljohann, Chief Executive Officer of Exicure. “We look forward to his contributions and leadership as we drive our TLR9 agonist, AST-008, through clinical development and expand our SNA™ platform into multiple clinical programs.”
Throughout his career, Dr. Schroff has served in a variety of functions, including research, manufacturing, clinical development, business development and investor relations. Most recently, Dr. Schroff served as Chief Executive Officer of VAXIMM AG, a Swiss/German biotech company focused on developing oral T-cell immunotherapies. Prior to joining VAXIMM, he was Chief Executive Officer of Mologen AG, a publicly traded German biotech company, serving on the company's executive board for over ten years. During his tenure at Mologen, Dr. Schroff held various roles of increasing responsibility, including Chief Operating Officer and Head of Product Development, where he successfully transformed Mologen from a preclinical company into an established, late-stage, immuno-oncology company with programs in Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials each utilizing nucleic acid therapeutics to agonize TLR9 receptors.
“Exicure’s breakthrough three dimensional SNA™ technology unlocks the potential for a whole new class of immunomodulatory and gene regulating drugs for a broad range of disorders,” said Dr. Schroff. “I am excited to join this talented leadership team at such a transformative time in the company’s evolution as they advance their therapeutic candidates into and through the clinic.”
Dr. Schroff is the co-inventor on numerous patents in the field of immuno-oncology, RNAi and gene expression, including a TLR9 agonist that is now in late-stage clinical development for various cancer indications. He received his Ph.D. in molecular biology from Freie Universität Berlin and a degree in biochemistry from Leibniz Universität Hannover.
About Exicure, Inc.
Exicure, Inc. is a clinical stage
biotechnology company developing a new class of immunomodulatory and
gene regulating drugs against validated targets. Exicure's proprietary
3-dimensional, spherical nucleic acid (SNA™) architecture unlocks the
potential of therapeutic oligonucleotides in a wide range of cells and
tissues. Exicure's lead programs address inflammatory diseases, genetic
disorders and oncology. Exicure is based outside of Chicago, IL. www.exicuretx.com