SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.– Pragma Bio, a tech-enabled drug discovery biotech startup specializing in finding small molecule drugs, is thrilled to announce that Dr. Mohamed Donia will lead Pragma Bio’s scientific innovation as a Scientific Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO).
Dr. Donia, a world-renowned expert in natural product discovery and a pioneer in mining microbes within the human body for small molecules, brings over two decades of specialized expertise to Pragma Bio. Dr. Donia’s impressive career has been marked by groundbreaking achievements consistently featured in the most prestigious scientific journals, including Science, Nature, and Cell. Together with the research group that he leads at Princeton University, Dr. Donia has made many significant discoveries, including multiple novel small molecules with desirable therapeutic profiles and the elucidation of previously undiscovered clinically relevant enzymes and biochemical pathways. Notably, Dr. Donia has a track record of collaborating with top-tier biopharmaceutical companies with a focus on drug discovery and development. Dr. Grazia Piizzi, an expert drug discovery leader and a pharma executive, stated, “Dr. Donia’s deep domain expertise has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of how small molecules within humans can lead to better starting points for therapeutics. I am optimistic for where the field will go next due heavily to his contributions.” Pragma Bio is excited to leverage Dr. Donia’s wealth of experience in forging strategic collaborations to advance its mission.
At Pragma Bio, Dr. Donia will head the Pragma team to build a full-fledged small molecule discovery engine. He will lead the development of Pragma Bio’s platform into a robust pipeline of therapeutic programs, with a particular focus on the gut-immune axis and related therapeutic indications. Dr. Donia expressed his enthusiasm upon partnering with Pragma Bio, stating, “I am excited to embark on this new journey with Pragma Bio, a company at the forefront of drug discovery. By harnessing the power of natural product discovery and the wealth of knowledge we have accumulated over the years, we have the potential to revolutionize the field of small molecule drug discovery. Together with the outstanding team at Pragma Bio, I look forward to delivering innovative solutions that will change the lives of patients.”
As a Scientific Co-founder and a CSO, Dr. Donia will lead and support Pragma Bio at a pivotal time of the company’s growth trajectory. His extraordinary background, coupled with his dedication to advancing the field of drug development, positions Pragma Bio for new accomplishments. Dr. Donia will continue to run his research laboratory at Princeton University, independently of his role at Pragma Bio.
“We are privileged to welcome Dr. Mohamed Donia to Pragma Bio as our CSO and Scientific Co-founder,” said Kareem Barghouti, Co-founder and CEO, at Pragma Bio. “His unparalleled expertise in natural product discovery and his history of groundbreaking research make him the ideal leader to guide our company’s future. Dr. Donia has been supporting Pragma externally for some time now, and his new leadership role will undoubtedly accelerate our mission to discover and develop novel therapeutics for the benefit of patients worldwide.”
