Ohana Biosciences Announces Appointment of Ramiro Castro-Santamaria, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., as Chief Medical Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ohana Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering reproductive health through the industry’s first sperm biology platform, today announced the appointment of Ramiro Castro-Santamaria, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., as its Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Castro-Santamaria is a urologist and family medicine physician and brings nearly 20 years of experience in clinical research and drug development across therapeutic areas including urology and women’s health.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Castro-Santamaria to the Ohana team. He has built his career caring for patients in need of better and more innovative treatment options, which aligns with our mission of developing and delivering novel therapies and products for reproductive health,” said Amber Salzman, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Ohana. “His successful track record of driving clinical development strategy and leading regulatory submissions to U.S. and global regulatory bodies will be immensely valuable as we advance our broad pipeline through the clinic and move toward commercializing our first potential product next year.”

Dr. Castro-Santamaria brings global experience to the Ohana team, having worked in the U.S., Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom for leading biopharmaceutical companies on clinical development, medical affairs, regulatory filings and drug approvals. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Clinical Sciences and Head of Rheumatology at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Over the course of his 14-year career at GSK, Dr. Castro-Santamaria held multiple roles across clinical development and R&D, including working on the development and approval of Jalyn^® (dutasteride and tamsulosin hydrochloride) for benign prostatic hyperplasia, and overseeing the clinical development of GSK’s immuno-inflammation portfolio. Prior to this, he was a Senior Corporate Medical Advisor in urology at Boehringer Ingelheim, where he served as the Medical Lead for the development and approval of Yentreve^® (duloxetine hydrochloride) in urological indications. Before that, Dr. Castro-Santamaria was a Medical Advisor in urology, gastroenterology and women’s health at Pharmacia (later Pfizer). He graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Salamanca and completed his doctoral courses in internal medicine and family medicine training at the University of Navarra in Spain. He later graduated with a master’s in public health from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Castro-Santamaria also holds a master’s in business administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

“I believe that by offering advancements in non-hormonal contraception, fertility treatments and new technologies to reduce pregnancy complications, developmental disorders and inherited diseases, Ohana is well-positioned to become a leader in the future of reproductive health,” said Dr. Castro-Santamaria. “I am excited by Ohana’s novel approach of leveraging sperm biology to address a huge unmet need in reproductive health, as well as the promising preclinical data the company has generated across its fertility and contraception programs thus far. I look forward to working with the team to progress these programs through the clinic and bring much-needed innovation to patients.”

About Ohana Biosciences

At Ohana Biosciences, we are pioneering a reproductive health revolution through our industry-first platform of sperm-based technologies. We began with a vision to reimagine global reproductive health and help all people create the healthy family they dream of – when they are ready. Today, we believe our unprecedented understanding of sperm biology coupled with our pioneering research will turn our vision into a reality. Through our platform, we are focused on fundamental components of reproductive health: fertility, pregnancy complications, inherited disease, developmental disorders, and non-hormonal contraception. By advancing research in fertility treatments, new technologies to reduce pregnancy complications, disease transmission, and developmental disorders, and enabling non-hormonal contraception, Ohana is dedicated to becoming a leader in reproductive health and offering life-changing options for people. Ohana was founded in 2016 by Flagship Pioneering and is based in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.OhanaBio.com.