1910 Genetics Appoints Bridget Cole to Chief Scientific Officer

Cole, who has 25-plus years of biopharmaceutical R&D experience and was previously SVP and Head of Chemistry for 1910, will lead the company’s research in small and large molecule drug discovery

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--1910 Genetics, the only biotech advancing small and large molecule drug discovery with an automated, multimodal AI platform, today announced the appointment of Bridget Cole to Chief Scientific Officer. Cole, who previously served as SVP and Head of Chemistry, will lead the biotech’s scientific research operations, set and advance research priorities, and work closely with 1910’s AI leadership to guide model and platform development with her drug development expertise.

Cole has over 25 years of drug discovery and clinical development experience, helping advance compounds from lead identification through late-stage clinical trials across a wide range of therapeutic areas. Her background as a chemist and leader of medicinal chemistry teams has made her a critical part, and cultural fit, for 1910 Genetics which is focused on generating drugs with both an optimal pharmacological profile and molecular basis determined upfront.

“Our ambition to generate small and large molecule drugs, using a multimodal AI and data-intensive platform, requires a seasoned but progressive drug developer and team leader like Bridget,” said Jen Nwankwo, Ph.D., Founder and CEO. “As Chief Scientific Officer, Bridget will take over additional research responsibilities internally and externally, engage directly with partners on scientific R&D, and support our vision to become the next Genentech – a true innovator in advancing modern drug discovery.”

Before 1910 Genetics, Cole was SVP of Drug Discovery at Nocion Therapeutics where she led lead optimization programs to develop novel therapies for conditions associated with neurogenic inflammation, including a phase 2 drug candidate for chronic cough. Prior to Nocion, Cole held several biopharmaceutical R&D leadership positions including: VP of Medicinal Chemistry at Axial Biotherapeutics, where she developed microbiome-inspired therapies for neurodegenerative conditions; VP at Flatley Discovery Lab, where she led discovery programs and helped develop two clinical candidates for cystic fibrosis; VP at Surface Logix where she directed medicinal chemistry and supported development of three clinical programs; and Associate Director of Chemistry at Pfizer.

A Boston native, Cole received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Boston University, her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Brandeis University, and completed postdoctoral training at Boston College. She is also the co-inventor on 30 issued U.S. patents.

“After an already rewarding career serving companies like Pfizer and Nocion to advance new medicines for patients, I was drawn to 1910 Genetics because of their unique approach to leveraging both wet lab data and AI methodologies for drug discovery, and, importantly, their highly talented team. I have never met anyone like Jen Nwankwo, and I love working with her and my 1910 colleagues to develop innovative solutions to merge technology with empirical biology to drive drug discovery programs,” said Bridget Cole. “I look forward to continuing to guide and grow this team as we engineer better treatments for patients and make undruggable targets a thing of the past.”

Since launching in 2021, 1910 Genetics has raised $26.1 million in funding from M12-Microsoft’s Venture Fund, Playground Global, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and other leading investors. 1910 is currently one of the only biotech companies using Microsoft’s Azure Quantum Elements to bring quantum computing power to scientific discovery. The company continues to advance a pipeline of novel drug candidates on its own and in partnership with pharma and tech leaders.

About 1910 Genetics
1910 Genetics is the only biotech company advancing small and large molecule drug discovery with an automated, multimodal AI platform. We integrate AI with three proprietary data streams – computational data, wet lab gold standard biological data and wet lab proxy biological data – to deliver novel drug candidates to leading pharma and tech partners, and advance our own pipeline for neurological, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. 1910 was launched in 2021 with a combined seed and Series A funding of $26.1M backed by M12-Microsoft’s Venture Fund, Playground Global, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and other leading investors. We have since established our HQ and lab facilities in Boston’s Seaport District and continue to hire a world-class team. To learn more visit 1910genetics.com.