CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rodin Therapeutics, a biotechnology company applying insights from epigenetics to develop novel therapeutics for neurological disorders, today announced the appointment of Samantha Singer, Chief Operating Officer of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, as an independent member of the company's Board of Directors. Mrs. Singer is a highly-regarded biopharmaceutical industry executive with over 15 years of international business and corporate strategy experience.
"Rodin is focused on a high-value but also challenging target – HDAC2 inhibition to treat cognition in Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. To increase our probability of translational success, we need to work with industry leaders who are personally committed to advancing innovative research. Samantha's leadership roles at the Broad Institute and Biogen are well-suited to helping Rodin navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead of us," said Adam Rosenberg, Rodin's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Samantha's skill as a leader and strategic thinker will add great value to our board, and her experience and network will undoubtedly help us expand our reach."
"We are very excited to welcome Samantha to our board," added Bruce Booth, Atlas Partner and Rodin co-founder and chairman. "The ability to attract a candidate of Samantha's level to our board speaks to the progress we've made at Rodin, and to our potential to make a real difference in challenging disease areas."
Since its inception within Atlas Venture's company-creating seed program in March 2013, Rodin has advanced its internal pipeline of epigenetic modulators and obtained an exclusive license to an additional chemical series discovered at the Broad Institute. Important collaborations with co-founding structure-accelerated lead discovery partner Proteros Biostructures, as well as with the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, have been successfully put in place as well.
"Rodin has assembled a great team and is pursuing a compelling scientific approach to one of the highest areas of need in medicine," said Samantha Singer. "I look forward to joining the Rodin board, and to helping the company achieve its goal of bringing forward novel epigenetic modulators towards the clinic."
Samantha Singer is the Chief Operating Officer of the Broad Institute, where she oversees the institute's human resources, finance, facilities, and information technology teams, in addition to the Office of Strategic Alliances and Partnering. Mrs. Singer joined the Broad after building extensive experience in corporate strategy and organizational effectiveness. She most recently served as Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Chief of Staff for the Chief Executive Officer at Biogen Idec. Over her six years at the company, she led corporate strategy efforts and oversaw major operations initiatives abroad. Before her time at Biogen Idec, Mrs. Singer was a management consultant, first in the Health Care Practice Area at the Boston Consulting Group, and then in an independent consulting partnership focused on biotech companies and biomedical research centers. She holds an M.S. in molecular biology from The Rockefeller University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Mrs. Singer joins Mr. Rosenberg, Dr. Booth and Kees Been, CEO of Lysosomal Therapeutics, on the Rodin Board of Directors.
About Rodin Therapeutics
Rodin Therapeutics is discovering and developing first in class therapeutics for cognitive disorders, applying unique insights into the role of epigenetics and best in class structural biology capabilities. Rodin closed an initial $12.9m Series A financing round in May 2014, and was co-founded in 2013 by Atlas Venture and Proteros Biostructures.
About Atlas Venture
Atlas Venture is a biotech-focused, early-stage venture capital firm that creates and invests in life sciences startup companies in the U.S. Atlas is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1993, Atlas has invested in over 150 early stage life sciences companies. For more information, visit www.atlasventure.com.