SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BlackThorn Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing targeted treatments for neurobehavioral disorders, today announced the appointment of Matthew K. Fust to the company’s board of directors. Mr. Fust previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“Matt has more than 20 years of experience as a chief financial officer helping private and public biopharmaceutical companies raise capital through partner financing, initial public offerings and M&A. His insights and perspective will be invaluable as BlackThorn grows and advances toward its goal of becoming the leading neurobehavioral health company,” said Mark Corrigan, M.D., BlackThorn chairman of the board. “We look forward to working with Matt on the board as he provides strategic counsel on corporate financing and general oversight.”
“Neurobehavioral disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder, cause patients and their families untold suffering and cost the healthcare system billions of dollars. As one of the leading companies focusing on this space, BlackThorn has an impressive drug development platform and portfolio of first-in-class small molecules that have the potential to transform the lives of patients with these disorders,” said Mr. Fust. “With the recent initiation of BlackThorn’s Phase 2a study in major depressive disorder, this is an exciting time for the company. I look forward to working with the board and executive team and contributing my experience and skills to support the company’s growth and momentum.”
Mr. Fust is an advisor to private and publicly-traded life science companies. Prior to his role at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, he served as chief financial officer at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Perlegen Sciences, Inc. and ALZA Corporation. Mr. Fust currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Atara Biotherapeutics, Dermira, MacroGenics and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical.
About BlackThorn Therapeutics, Inc.
BlackThorn Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the lives of people with neurobehavioral disorders through the discovery and development of novel, targeted treatments. BlackThorn has a robust pipeline of first- and best-in-class treatments. The company approaches drug discovery and development by linking brain physiology to behavior. Through BlackThorn’s network of collaborations with leading academic investigators and technology alliances, the company is developing and deploying a set of technologies that will enable focused, rapid, resource-efficient translational studies for drug development. The company is headquartered in South San Francisco, Calif. For more information, please visit http://www.blackthornrx.com/.
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Paula Gitis, 415-946-1083
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