MENLO PARK, Calif. & DALLAS– ReCode Therapeutics (the “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering disease-modifying genetic medicines using its proprietary LNP delivery platform, today announced the appointment of Shehnaaz Suliman, M.D., MBA, M.Phil., as chief executive officer and as a member of the board of directors effective today. Former CEO, David Lockhart, Ph.D., will transition to the role of chief scientific officer and will remain president and a member of the board of directors.
“I am excited about furthering the development of transformative therapeutics for patients with ReCode’s first-in-class LNP platform and promising genetic medicines pipeline,” said Shehnaaz Suliman, M.D., MBA, M.Phil., chief executive officer, ReCode Therapeutics. “There is vast untapped potential in RNA medicines and the delivery of genetic payloads to modify and potentially remedy a wide variety of life-limiting diseases. I am humbled to lead ReCode into its next stage of growth and look forward to partnering with Dr. Lockhart and the team to continue to execute our mission to develop a new generation of first-in-class mRNA-based and gene editing therapies for patients.”
“Dr. Suliman has an exceptional track record of building and transforming small and large life science companies into leading biotechnology companies. Her impressive business acumen, ability to advance assets through the clinic and competency in deal-making make her an outstanding fit for CEO as we enter our next chapter of growth,” said David Lockhart, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer, ReCode Therapeutics. “I am personally very excited to partner with Dr. Suliman, and we are invigorated by her arrival and look forward to leveraging her expertise as we advance our powerful LNP platform and robust pipeline of treatments for patients with life-limiting genetic diseases.”
Dr. Suliman is a physician, drug developer and dealmaker with over 25 years of experience building and transforming small and large biopharmaceutical companies. She most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Alector, a leading immuno-neurology and immuno-oncology company where she played a critical role growing, scaling, raising capital and advancing a late-stage development pipeline. Prior to Alector, she served as senior vice president, corporate development and strategy at Theravance Biopharma from 2017 to 2019, where she helped deliver a $1B profit sharing partnership with Janssen for the company’s lead JAK inhibitor program. Prior to Theravance, Dr. Suliman was vice president and global head, immunology, infectious diseases and specialty care at Roche from 2015 to 2017. Dr. Suliman worked for Genentech as a group leader and project team leader in the R&D Portfolio Management and Operations Group from 2010 to 2015, where she oversaw an early development portfolio of more than 30 programs across multiple therapeutic areas. She held various management roles of increasing responsibility at Gilead Sciences, Inc. between 2005 and 2010 and played a significant role in forward-integrating Gilead into new therapeutic areas through M&A. Prior to Gilead, Dr. Suliman was an investment banker with Lehman Brothers and Petkevich & Partners, advising numerous public and private companies on buy- and sell-side transactions. She was named as one of the 2017 Fiercest Women in Life Sciences and as one of the National Diversity Council’s Power 50 in 2021 (Most Influential Women in Business). Dr. Suliman serves as an independent director on the Board of Directors of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: RARE) and 10x Genomics (NASDAQ: TXG). Dr. Suliman received her M.D. (MB, ChB) from the University of Cape Town Medical School, South Africa, and holds an MBA, with distinction, and M.Phil. degrees from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.
