Sunbird Bio Appoints Richard Batrla, M.D., Ph.D., MBA as Chief Medical Officer

– Dr. Batrla brings extensive expertise in diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and neuroscience, following three decades as a medical and clinical leader at global biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies –

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sunbird Bio, a biotechnology company developing proprietary blood-based technologies to improve diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders and early-stage cancer, today announced the appointment of Richard Batrla, M.D., Ph.D., MBA as chief medical officer.

“There couldn’t be a better time to welcome Richard to the team as we embark on a new year and anticipate several exciting milestones ahead,” said John McDonough, executive chairman and CEO of Sunbird Bio. “His extensive expertise in neurological diagnostics and therapeutics will be invaluable to our team, particularly his experience with late-stage product development and launching new medical breakthroughs in neurology. Richard is a tremendous addition to our team as we push the boundaries of precision neurology and strive to enhance patient outcomes with our groundbreaking blood-based diagnostic technology.”

Dr. Batrla will lead the ongoing development of Sunbird Bio’s platform technology, the broadest panel of blood-based diagnostics designed to accurately and directly detect disease-specific aggregated proteins from the brain with a simple blood draw. He has a proven track record of advancing neurological diagnostics and therapeutics through clinical development to regulatory approval in the United States and internationally.

“I am thrilled to join Sunbird Bio’s innovative and diverse team, which is truly at the forefront of developing first-of-its-kind blood-based diagnostics for neurological disorders,” said Dr. Batrla. “The data generated for this technology thus far are impressive, as they demonstrate strong sensitivity in identifying key pathologies that drive the majority of neurodegenerative diseases. I am eager to collaborate with the talented team at Sunbird Bio to further advance this breakthrough, accelerating drug development and enhancing diagnostic processes for critical pathologies, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes worldwide.”

Dr. Batrla brings 30 years of experience to Sunbird Bio, and most recently served as the vice president and head of U.S. medical affairs, and prior as global executive director for Alzheimer’s disease, at Eisai Inc., where he led the medical launch of LEQEMBI® (lecanemab) in the United States and prepared for launches internationally. Prior to Eisai, Dr. Batrla was the global medical director for Novartis’ neuroscience pipeline, responsible for the medical development of a number of investigational candidates for neurological disorders including Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy. Additionally, Dr. Batrla spent more than 15 years at Roche, where he held varying roles of increasing responsibility in global medical and scientific affairs and, most notably, established and grew its neurological diagnostics clinical program and pipeline.

Dr. Batrla is an author on numerous publications in highly regarded scientific journals, including a significant number focused on Alzheimer’s disease diagnostics, drug development and real-world evidence. Dr. Batrla received both Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, which included clinical training at the Mayo Clinic. He also received a Master of Business Administration from Aston University in Birmingham, UK.

About Sunbird Bio

Sunbird Bio is a biotechnology company developing proprietary blood-based diagnostic tests that provide unprecedented insights to enable earlier, more accurate diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders and early-stage cancer. Sunbird’s innovative technologies uniquely detect the property and activity of proteins to empower researchers and clinicians with actionable information that is not available or accessible from current tests. Sunbird Bio’s unparalleled leadership in blood-based diagnostics positions the company to become a global leader in the field, addressing significant research and clinical gaps, and serving multiple, sizable markets.