REDWOOD CITY, Calif. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.– Kriya Therapeutics, Inc., a fully integrated gene therapy company advancing a broad portfolio of innovative therapeutics, announced today that it has appointed Pedro Huertas, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer of its Rare Disease Division. In his role, Dr. Huertas will be responsible for the direction and execution of the company’s clinical, medical and scientific plans to advance its rare disease pipeline.
Dr. Huertas brings to Kriya three decades of experience advancing therapies for rare conditions across a spectrum of roles, including in preclinical and clinical research, clinical development, post-marketing development, and regulatory strategy. Prior to joining Kriya, Dr. Huertas served as Chief Medical Officer at Inozyme Pharma, Sentien Biotechnologies, and Eloxx Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Dr. Huertas also held clinical and development roles at Pfizer, Shire, Amicus, and Genzyme Corp.
“Pedro brings a wealth of experience to Kriya as we continue to advance our rare disease gene therapy portfolio,” said Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kriya. “His track record of success in developing impactful medicines has earned him the respect of the rare disease community – and we look forward to supporting him within our unique ecosystem to deliver transformative gene therapies to patients.”
Dr. Huertas’ extensive experience working with regulatory agencies around the world will further bolster Kriya’s mission to advance gene therapies to patients. While at Genzyme, he helped lead the successful effort to file for approval of Fabrazyme (agalsidase beta), an enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease, in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
“I’m excited to join a company with the potential to deliver several innovative, life-changing therapies to patients with rare diseases,” said Dr. Huertas. “Kriya’s fully integrated technology platform, advanced manufacturing capabilities and accomplished team offer significant advantages as it pursues its mission – and I am eager to deploy these capabilities to accelerate the delivery of gene therapies to patients who need them.”
