BOSTON– Expansion Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative oral medicines for severe RNA-mediated diseases, today announced the appointment of Raymond J. Kelleher, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors representing Cormorant Asset Management. Dr. Kelleher is an accomplished neurologist and neuroscientist, company founder, and investor, who serves on several boards for leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Kelleher to our board as we advance the development of our pipeline of small molecule medicines for severe RNA-mediated neurodegenerative diseases,” said Renato Skerlj, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Expansion Therapeutics. “His depth and breadth of neurology experience coupled with his broad scientific, clinical and industry knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to build Expansion as a leading company in developing transformative oral medicines that could dramatically change patient outcomes for diseases where treatment options are currently limited.”
Scott Rocklage, Ph.D., Board Chairman added, “We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Kelleher and benefiting from his extensive board and leadership experience at both large and small innovative pharmaceutical and biotech companies. His contributions to Expansion will provide tremendous support for the company’s continued growth and development.”
Dr. Kelleher currently serves as Managing Director at Cormorant Asset Management in charge of investing in private and public companies across a range of therapeutic areas. He represents Cormorant on the boards of Arkuda Therapeutics, BiVACOR, and ONK Therapeutics as director, and Chroma Therapeutics, Umoja Biopharma, Interius BioTherapeutics, Garuda Therapeutics, and DTx Pharma as board observer.
He also serves on the faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where his laboratory has made important contributions to understanding the molecular and cellular basis of cognition and cognitive disorders. His work has been widely published in Cell, Nature, Neuron, PNAS, and elsewhere, and his research accomplishments have been recognized with national awards including the Pew Scholars Award in the Biomedical Sciences, the John Merck Scholars Award, and the National Institutes of Health Independent Scientist Award. Dr. Kelleher also maintains an active clinical neurology practice at Massachusetts General Hospital specializing in neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
“I look forward to partnering with Expansion’s leadership team and board as the company progresses its pipeline of novel RNA-targeted drug candidates through preclinical and clinical development,” said Dr. Kelleher. “Expansion’s differentiated platform holds tremendous promise in delivering disease-modifying therapies to treat a wide range of RNA-mediated diseases that have the potential to transform patients’ lives.”
Dr. Kelleher received B.S. degrees in biology and literature from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.A. in french from Harvard, and an M.D. and Ph.D. in cell biology from Stanford, where he discovered the mediator of transcriptional activation while working with Nobel Laureate Roger Kornberg. He conducted postdoctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Nobel Laureate Susumu Tonegawa, where he discovered a key role for translational control in memory formation. He completed his internship in internal medicine and residency in neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
