CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Goldfinch Bio, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing precision medicines for the treatment of kidney diseases, today announced three key appointments to its Board of Directors: Meryl Zausner, former U.S. Senator William “Mo” Cowan and Tyrell Rivers, Ph.D. Ms. Zausner will also serve as Chair of the company’s Audit Committee.
“Meryl, Mo and Tyrell are accomplished, passionate leaders, and we are thrilled to welcome them to our Board,” said Anthony Johnson, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Goldfinch Bio. “Together, they will bring diverse perspectives and a wealth of relevant expertise to Goldfinch, including experience guiding corporate strategy, building financially sound businesses, and mentoring talent in both the public and private sectors. We look forward to their many contributions as we mature our company, advance our growing pipeline of kidney precision medicines, and aim to bring hope and renewed quality of life to people living with kidney disease.”
Ms. Zausner brings over 35 years of financial and operational experience in the pharmaceutical industry. For much of her corporate career, Ms. Zausner worked at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she was instrumental in creating the blueprint for the Novartis Oncology Business Unit and engineering the launch of the first Novartis shared services organization. During her time at Novartis, Ms. Zausner served as the company’s Chief Financial and Administrative Officer in the United States, and as a member of its Pharmaceutical Executive Committee and Global Finance Leadership Team. Ms. Zausner currently serves as a Board member of Seres Therapeutics. Ms. Zausner holds her B.S. in Accounting and Economics from The State University of New York at Albany and earned her CPA in New York.
“Historically, kidney disease has lacked the focus and pace of innovation that we’ve seen pursued and achieved in oncology and other disease areas,” said Ms. Zausner. “Goldfinch is changing the treatment paradigm, and I look forward to sharing with Tony and the team my experiences in building and financing organizations that led innovation to dramatically improve patients’ health and quality of life.”
Senator Cowan is President, Global Government Affairs and Policy and Developed Markets for General Electric Co. (GE), where he is responsible for directing the company’s government relations and public policy engagement and for leading GE’s national executive teams in Europe and Canada. Prior to GE, Senator Cowan held leadership roles with ML Strategies, a leading government relations and consulting firm, and the law firm Mintz Levin. In 2013, he served as interim U.S. Senator after serving as Chief Legal Counsel, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick. Senator Cowan is a graduate of Duke University and Northeastern University School of Law. He holds honorary degrees from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and Bridgewater State University, and serves on the board of the Massachusetts General Hospital.
“Given the widespread prevalence of kidney diseases, their disproportionate impact on minority populations, and the dearth of effective treatment options that leave countless patients with dialysis and organ transplant as their only options, the time is now to find more effective solutions,” said Senator Cowan. “I look forward to working with the Goldfinch team to bring hope and renewed quality of life to people with kidney disease.”
Dr. Rivers is Executive Director of Corporate Development at AstraZeneca, where he is responsible for creating and executing innovative, value-enhancing business strategies. Prior to assuming this role in 2014, he worked at MedImmune Ventures, specializing in biotechnology investing. Earlier in his career, Dr. Rivers held various positions at Merck & Co., where he led technical support for commercial vaccines and directed global business initiatives for assessing key technologies for research and development. He currently serves as a Board member of ADC Therapeutics, Armaron Bio and Cerapedics. Dr. Rivers holds his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and an M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Business.
“Goldfinch is transforming kidney disease treatment by pioneering a precision medicine approach to discover, develop and commercialize kidney disease treatments,” said Dr. Rivers. “I look forward to partnering with the leadership team on corporate strategy with the goal of accelerating and expanding the company’s pipeline to benefit patients and create value for investors.”
About Goldfinch Bio
Goldfinch Bio, Inc. is a precision kidney medicine company focused on our mission to deliver disease-modifying precision medicines that bring hope and renewed quality of life to people living with kidney diseases. We aspire to save kidneys and end dialysis. Our precision medicine product engine allows us to discover and validate novel targets aimed at understanding the molecular and phenotypic heterogeneity in diverse kidney disease patient populations to identify subsets most likely to respond to our treatments. We have a robust pipeline of novel, precision medicine product candidates targeting kidney diseases with significant unmet need. Our lead candidate, GFB-887, which is currently being evaluated in the TRACTION-2 Phase 2 clinical trial, is a precision-based podocyte-targeting, small molecule inhibitor of TRPC5, designed specifically to treat individuals with kidney diseases associated with an over-activation of the TRPC5-Rac1 pathway, including focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. In 2020, Goldfinch Bio was named one of Fierce Biotech’s “Fierce 15” companies. Visit us at www.goldfinchbio.com to learn more.
