Aro Biotherapeutics Expands Leadership Team with Appointment of Sukumar Sakamuri, Ph.D. as Chief Technology Officer

Distinguished R&D leader brings deep technical experience in novel oligonucleotide discovery and development ​

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aro Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering the development of tissue-targeted genetic medicines, today announced the appointment of Sukumar Sakamuri, Ph.D. as Chief Technology Officer and a member of the company’s executive leadership team. Dr. Sakamuri will play a lead role in the growth and expansion of Aro’s technology platforms driving the continued discovery and development of Centyrin-oligonucleotide conjugate therapeutics that transform the treatment of life-threatening genetic and immune-mediated diseases.

“Sukumar brings deep expertise in oligonucleotide discovery, development and bioconjugation technologies,” said Susan Dillon, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aro Biotherapeutics. “His proven track record advancing multiple novel therapeutics into the clinic, will directly impact the translation of Aro’s differentiated Centyrin-oligonucleotide platform into new therapeutic candidates. We are eager to leverage Sukumar’s innovative R&D expertise, and I am delighted to welcome him to our leadership team."

Dr. Sakamuri brings over 20 years of drug discovery and entrepreneurial leadership to Aro Biotherapeutics. Prior to joining Aro, Dr. Sakamuri served as Vice President and Head of Chemistry at Ambrx working on its ADC technology platform. He was responsible for discovering multiple pre-clinical candidates and advancing them toward the clinic. Before Ambrx, Dr. Sakamuri co-founded Tollnine, an immuno-oncology company working on antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates. He is co-inventor of the Tollnine technology platform, served as Vice President, Chemistry and was responsible for transitioning Tollnine into a pre-clinical development company. Prior to Tollnine, he served as Executive Director and Head of Chemistry at Solstice Biologics. As a founding employee, he built the Solstice chemistry team and invented best-in-class siRNA-GalNAc conjugates for rare and genetic diseases. Dr. Sakamuri is an inventor and author of over 45 patents, patent applications, and publications. He conducted postdoctoral research in medicinal chemistry at Georgetown University and holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, India.

​About Aro Biotherapeutics

Based in Philadelphia, Aro Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering the development of tissue-targeted genetic medicines with a platform based on a proprietary protein technology called Centyrins. The company is developing a wholly-owned pipeline of Centyrin-based therapeutic candidates and is working with industry partners to leverage Centyrins for tissue-specific targeting of therapeutics for a diverse set of diseases. For more information, visit www.arobiotx.com.