MEDFORD, Mass.– Myrobalan Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel oral small-molecule therapies to repair damage and restore brain function in high-unmet need central nervous system (CNS) conditions, announces the appointment of Robin Kleiman, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. In this role, Dr. Kleiman will play an instrumental part in expanding the company’s robust pipeline and developing innovative therapies.
“We’re excited to welcome Robin and look forward to leveraging her exceptional experience in translating fundamental biology into novel target spaces as well as building highly effective teams,” said Dr. Jing Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Myrobalan Therapeutics. “As we advance our neurorestorative candidates into the clinic, Robin’s innovative track record will enable us to push the boundaries of what’s possible in CNS drug development.”
Dr. Kleiman brings over 25 years of leadership experience in neuroscience drug discovery across start-ups, biotech, and big pharma. Most recently, she served as Vice President of CNS biology at Alkermes, Inc., where she led preclinical biology support for exploratory, discovery, and early development stage programs. Under her leadership, the Research team established key capabilities that strengthened the chain of translatability across a strategic range of CNS indications.
Prior to Alkermes, Dr. Kleiman established the Translational Cellular Sciences group at Biogen, supporting the testing of therapeutic molecules using iPSC-derived cell types. She played a pivotal role in launching the Translational Neuroscience Center and Human Neuron Core at Boston Children’s Hospital, operationalizing systematic assay development and screening with patient-derived iPSC neurons. Dr. Kleiman began her drug development career at Pfizer, where she was one of the founding members of the CNS phosphodiesterase platform team, which produced multiple clinical candidate molecules, initiated three first-in-human clinical trials for distinct and novel mechanisms, and conducted two proof-of-concept clinical trials.
“I am delighted to join Myrobalan Therapeutics and contribute to its mission of delivering transformative treatments to patients with severe CNS disorders,” said Dr. Kleiman. “I’ve devoted my career to developing novel CNS therapeutics and at Myrobalan there is a unique opportunity to combine biomarker-guided precision neuroscience with a deep understanding of promising novel targets to create first-in-class and best-in-class therapeutics.”
Dr. Kleiman received her B.S. in Zoology from the University of Vermont and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Virginia. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
