miRagen Therapeutics Expands Executive Team Adding Drug Development Veteran
Dr. Arthur A. Levin Joins as Executive Vice President of Research and Development
BOULDER, Colo., Apr 24, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Dr. Levin, a world expert on the preclinical and clinical development of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics, to serve as miRagen's head of R&D.
--As leader of the project that brought the first microRNA inhibitor into human clinical trials, Dr. Levin brings decades of drug development experience to miRagen's executive team.
MiRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative microRNA (miRNA)-based therapeutics primarily for the treatment of patients who suffer from cardiovascular and muscle disease, announced today that Dr. Arthur A. Levin has joined its executive team as Executive Vice President of Research and Development. In this role, Dr. Levin will be responsible for advancing miRagen's current product candidates into development and for leading discovery research efforts aimed at expanding the company's pipeline.
"The addition of Dr. Levin, a recognized leader in both drug development and microRNA therapeutics, comes at an important time in miRagen's business evolution," said William S. Marshall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "With the recent Series B financing, miRagen is well-positioned to advance key internal programs as well as partnered programs. I can't imagine a better person to add to our team and look forward to working closely with Art in the development of life changing medicines."
Dr. Levin brings vital leadership experience and translational expertise to the company. Having worked extensively in all aspects of drug development from discovery through drug registration, he has broad experience in many key therapeutic areas and in U.S. and European regulatory affairs. He is a recognized world expert in the preclinical and clinical development of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics and led the project that brought the first microRNA inhibitor into human clinical trials. With more than 30 years of pharmaceutical and biotech experience, Dr. Levin has published over 60 papers and some of the seminal reviews in the field. He remains active internationally on advisory committees and in scientific organizations such as the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society.
"MiRagen's work has the potential for significant impact in treating disease, and I'm delighted to be joining this team of highly regarded microRNA researchers and business leaders," said Dr. Levin. "I look forward to helping the team move rapidly towards key development decisions with a very exciting pipeline."
About microRNAs: MicroRNAs have emerged as an important class of small RNAs encoded in the genome. They act to control the expression of sets of genes and entire pathways and are thus thought of as master regulators of gene expression. Recent studies have demonstrated that microRNAs are associated with many disease processes. Because they are single molecular entities that dictate the expression of fundamental regulatory pathways, microRNAs represent potential drug targets for controlling many biologic and disease processes.
About miRagen Therapeutics: MiRagen Therapeutics, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company founded to harness the power of microRNA (miRNA) biology and develop innovative microRNA-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease. In October 2011, miRagen and Les Laboratoires Servier, a leading European pharmaceutical company, entered into a strategic alliance for the research and development of microRNA-based therapeutics for the treatment of patients afflicted with cardiovascular disease. Combining in-house expertise in microRNA biology and chemistry with strong external partnerships and academic collaborations, miRagen is striving to make a difference in health care across the globe. For more information, please visit www.miragenrx.com .
SOURCE: miRagen Therapeutics
For miRagen Therapeutics
Kecia Carroll, Communications
720-933-0848
[email protected]