Ribometrix Promotes Dr. Manjunath Ramarao to Chief Scientific Officer

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ribometrix, a biotechnology company developing small molecule therapeutics that target RNA to treat human diseases, announced today the promotion of Manjunath (Manju) Ramarao, Ph.D., to chief scientific officer. He will succeed John Reardon, Ph.D., in leading the development of Ribometrix’s platform and pipeline of small molecule drugs targeting RNA. Dr. Reardon, who retired at the end of January, will continue to serve as an external consultant to the company.

“Dr. Ramarao brings a wealth of experience in biopharmaceutical research and development to Ribometrix, building on our industry-leading expertise in RNA structure and biology, with a vision to expand our R&D capabilities. His diverse expertise and global perspective will help guide the continued growth of Ribometrix’s platform capabilities through a new phase of development,” said Michael Solomon, Ph.D., chief executive officer. “The Ribometrix team thanks Dr. Reardon for his valuable contributions, wishes him well in his retirement after a distinguished career, and looks forward to future interactions in his consultant role.”

Prior to joining Ribometrix, Dr. Ramarao led scientific strategy, oversaw a wide range of preclinical programs and platforms, and managed the R&D organization at Biocon-Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Center (BBRC) in Bangalore, India. Under his leadership, the BBRC developed into a world-class research center with state-of-the-art capabilities and expert talent.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Ramarao worked as a principal research investigator at Pfizer (Wyeth) in Cambridge, MA, where he led biology programs in immunology and pain. He was also a post-doctoral fellow and a neurobiology instructor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ramarao received his BSc and MSc from Bangalore University, India, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

“Ribometrix’s state-of-the-art technology platform and scientific expertise present a huge opportunity to significantly advance the field of small-molecule RNA targeting through innovative insights into RNA structure and biology,” said Dr. Ramarao. “I look forward to the next chapter in the Ribometrix journey that leverages our expertise to develop novel medicines to treat unmet medical needs and help patients.”

About Ribometrix

Ribometrix is a biotechnology company pioneering a completely new class of small molecule therapeutics that directly target and modulate the function of RNA to treat human diseases. Ribometrix leverages its world-leading expertise in three-dimensional structural analysis of RNA to drive its discovery platform for the identification of novel small molecules that modulate the function of RNA and proteins associated with human disease. Ribometrix has established collaborations with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which leverages Ribometrix’s discovery platform. Ribometrix is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.