CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Archemix Corp., the privately- held biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing aptamer- based therapeutics, announced today that John Maraganore, Ph.D. has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Maraganore currently serves as President and CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. He brings over 20 years of experience in research and development, and business roles with biotechnology companies to Archemix. Prior to his work with Alnylam, Dr. Maraganore served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Product Development for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He also served as Millennium’s Vice President, Strategic Planning and M&A and prior to that was general manager of Millennium BioTherapeutics, Inc., a former subsidiary of Millennium. Before Millennium he served as Director of Molecular Biology and Director of Market and Business Development at Biogen, Inc. Dr. Maraganore also serves on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).
“We are privileged to have such an experienced and knowledgeable industry leader as John join our Board,” commented Dr. Errol De Souza, Chief Executive Officer of Archemix. “His extensive scientific and operational expertise makes him an exceptional addition to our Board of Directors. We also plan to leverage John’s expertise with oligonucleotide therapeutics as we continue rapidly to advance our aptamer product pipeline.”
“Archemix is at an exciting stage of its development,” stated Dr. Maraganore. “The company’s work with aptamers has the potential to bring forth a novel class of therapeutics for the treatment of acute and chronic diseases. Archemix holds a dominant intellectual property position, placing it at the forefront of the development of therapeutic aptamers. I look forward to lending my experience and perspective to the management team at Archemix as the company develops its promising portfolio of aptamer therapeutics.”
About Aptamers
Aptamers are single-stranded nucleic acids that form well-defined three- dimensional shapes, allowing them to bind to target molecules in a manner that is conceptually similar to antibodies. Aptamers combine the optimal characteristics of small molecules and antibodies, including high specificity and affinity, chemical and biological stability, low immunogenicity and the ability to target protein-protein interactions. In contrast to monoclonal antibodies, aptamers are chemically synthesized rather than biologically expressed, offering a significant cost advantage. As therapeutic agents, aptamers have demonstrated clinical biological efficacy and have excellent, tunable pharmacokinetic properties.
About Archemix Corp.
Archemix Corp. is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company’s mission is to develop aptamers as a class of directed therapeutics for the treatment of human disease. Because of their unique properties and proven efficacy, aptamers are a superior alternative to biologics and small molecules and will be a major class of drugs for the treatment of unmet medical needs.
Archemix’s aptamer expertise is complemented by a dominant patent estate comprised of over 220 issued and 230 pending patents covering the identification, composition and use of therapeutic aptamers. In addition to the company’s core aptamer generation technology, Archemix possesses strong expertise in both preclinical and clinical drug development. Further information about Archemix can be found at http://www.archemix.com.
For further information or to speak with Dr. John Maraganore or Dr. Errol De Souza, please contact Davia Temin of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com.
Archemix Corp.
CONTACT: Davia Temin of Temin and Company, +1-212-588-8788,news@teminandco.com, for Archemix Corp.
Web site: http://www.archemix.com/
