WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FORMA Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on sickle cell disease, prostate cancer, and other rare hematologic diseases and cancers, today announced the appointment of Agustín Melián, M.D. to EVP, head of research and development and Linea Aspesi to SVP, chief human resources officer. Both executives will join Forma effective July 11, 2022.

“As the company continues to expand globally to prepare to deliver transformative medicines to patients, we are very pleased to welcome Agustín and Linea, as they bring extensive experience in late-stage global drug development and commercialization,” said Frank D. Lee, president and chief executive officer of Forma.

Agustín Melián, M.D.

With more than 20 years in industry, Dr. Melián has developed an impressive track record developing patient-centric, rare and orphan disease therapies across multiple therapeutic areas, multiple modalities, and all phases of development. As the first chief medical officer at AlloVir, Inc., Dr. Melian played a foundational role building its development organization, taking the company through its initial public offering, and advancing programs through early and late-stage development. Dr. Melián also served as an SVP at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., managing multiple therapeutic areas and functions, while advancing programs that quadrupled the number of products on the market during his tenure at the company. Prior to Alexion, Dr. Melián served more than thirteen years at Merck & Co, Inc. in various development roles of increasing responsibility, including as global medical organization leader and head of emerging markets clinical development, and head of Japanese clinical development. In this capacity, he led the cross-functional research and development medical staff outside of the U.S. as well as Japan. He oversaw clinical trial execution in approximately 40 countries including in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Dr. Melián received his B.S. in molecular biochemistry and biophysics along with an M.D. from Yale University. He completed his post-graduate training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“As a physician-scientist with more than twenty years of experience developing novel therapies, I am looking forward to advancing the exciting portfolio at Forma, while improving the lives of the patients it seeks to serve,” said Dr. Melián.

Linea Aspesi

Ms. Aspesi brings more than twenty-five years of human resources leadership experience in life sciences and health care services to Forma with proven success aligning talent plans to company vision, mission, values, and strategy while fostering an equitable, inclusive, and dynamic environment. As chief human resources officer at Saniona, Inc., Ms. Aspesi partnered with the CEO to build a diverse executive team and functions, in addition to defining and driving cultural transformational strategies to prepare the organization for commercial launch. At Sobi, Inc., she served as vice president and head of human resources & office management for North America where she provided strategic leadership to design and execute a significant expansion strategy of the North American business in sales/marketing, market access and government affairs, medical affairs, and commercial innovation. Prior to Sobi, she served as head of human resources and a member of the North America HR leadership team at Sanofi, shaping talent strategies for the North America manufacturing and quality organization, Boston Hub Research and Development, and Sanofi Genzyme.

“Forma has a differentiated patient-centric culture and an amazing team. I’m excited to join and help further the diverse culture and development of the organization and people as the company continues its journey to deliver transformative medicines to patients,” said Ms. Aspesi.

As Ms. Aspesi steps into her role, SVP, corporate affairs & chief human resources officer Mary Wadlinger will step down and serve as a consultant and advisor to assist with the transition. Since 2014, Ms. Wadlinger has played a vital role in establishing the culture at Forma and in evolving the organization from a company focused on research to now late-stage development. She not only built but also led our patient engagement, corporate communications, and human resources functions. “We want to thank Mary for her contributions in boldly advancing our purpose and for caring deeply for our people and the patients we serve,” said Mr. Lee.

About Forma Therapeutics

Forma Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics to transform the lives of patients with rare hematologic diseases and cancers. Our R&D engine combines deep biology insight, chemistry expertise and clinical development capabilities to create drug candidates with differentiated mechanisms of action focused on indications with high unmet need. Our work has generated a broad proprietary portfolio of programs with the potential to provide profound patient benefit. For more information, please visit www.FormaTherapeutics.com or follow us on Twitter @FORMAInc and LinkedIn.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, express or implied statements regarding the company’s beliefs and expectations regarding its: business development, plans and objectives; expected start date for employment of Dr. Melián and Ms. Aspesi; future plans for development, including expectations regarding late-stage global drug development and commercialization; and mechanisms of action, benefits and safety of our product candidates. The words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.

Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties associated with the following: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company’s business, operations, supply chain, patient enrollment and retention, clinical trials, strategy, goals and anticipated milestones, as well as global economies and financial markets; the therapeutic potential of our product candidates and the timing and completion of our clinical trials and related data analyses; positive results from a clinical study may not necessarily be predictive of the results of future or ongoing clinical studies; any one or more of our product candidates may not be successfully developed and commercialized; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; our ability to protect and maintain our intellectual property position; and our ability to fund operations; as well as those risks and uncertainties set forth more fully under the caption “Risk Factors” in our most recent annual report on Form 10-Q filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and subsequent filings with the SEC. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date.

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