Sangeeta Sawhney, M.D
Linda Rubinstein
Experienced pharmaceutical R&D leader Sangeeta Sawhney, M.D., appointed Chief Medical Officer to lead clinical development as Diasome advances HDV-Insulin toward Phase 3
Paul Strumph, M.D., transitions to Senior Medical Advisor
Linda Rubinstein appointed Chief Financial Officer; Health Business Group executives join senior management team to support strategy, business development and commercial preparation
CLEVELAND and BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diasome Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing liver-targeted therapies for metabolic disease, today announced changes to its leadership team as the company prepares to advance its lead program, HDV-Insulin, toward Phase 3 development. Sangeeta Sawhney, M.D., has joined Diasome as Chief Medical Officer and Paul Strumph, M.D., has transitioned to the role of Senior Medical Advisor.
These appointments are complemented by other recent additions to the senior management team, including Linda Rubinstein as Chief Financial Officer, David Williams as Chief Strategy Officer, Karen Donovan as Head of Commercial Development, and David O'Reilly as Head of Business Development.
“As Diasome moves into late-stage clinical development, we are strengthening our leadership team with important new capabilities and expertise,” said Robert Geho, Chief Executive Officer of Diasome Pharmaceuticals. “Sangeeta brings extensive experience advancing therapies through late-stage development, regulatory review and commercialization. Paul led Diasome through the successful execution and conclusion of our Phase 2b OPTI-2 trial. We are grateful for his collaboration and leadership as interim Chief Medical Officer, and we are delighted that he will continue to contribute as a trusted senior medical advisor to our team. Together, these appointments position Diasome well for this important next stage.”
Dr. Sawhney is a physician-executive and pharmaceutical R&D leader with more than 20 years of experience advancing small molecules, biologics and other innovative therapies from first-in-human and proof-of-concept studies through global regulatory submission, approval and launch. Most recently, she held senior R&D leadership roles at Intercept Pharmaceuticals and Alfasigma, including serving as Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Development at Intercept, where she led clinical development, medical, regulatory, pharmacovigilance, clinical operations and biometrics functions. Dr. Sawhney’s therapeutic-area experience spans metabolism, autoimmune diseases, hepatology and gastroenterology. She has represented sponsors before U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committees and European regulatory authorities. She earned her M.D. from the University of Miami, with honors in pharmacology, biochemistry and microbiology, and completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
“Diasome is at an important inflection point as we advance HDV-Insulin to Phase 3 development and continue to expand our clinical pipeline,” said Sangeeta Sawhney, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Diasome Pharmaceuticals. “Our OPTI-2 trial and other clinical data support the potential of liver-targeted mealtime insulin to decouple tight glucose control from hypoglycemia risk. These results reinforce the opportunity for HDV-Insulin to address this longstanding tradeoff in intensive insulin therapy that has persisted despite advances in monitoring and delivery technologies. I look forward to working with the team to develop new therapies with the potential to improve outcomes for people living with diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases.”
Ms. Rubinstein brings more than 35 years of operational, financial and capital markets experience across the life sciences industry and investment banking, including as CFO of numerous public and private biotechnology companies, most recently with Adverum Biotechnologies, which was acquired by Eli Lilly and Company in 2025, and Nektar Therapeutics.
Mr. Williams, Ms. Donovan, and Mr. O'Reilly serve in their roles through Health Business Group (HBG), a strategy consulting firm supporting Diasome. “The Health Business Group team is a key component of Diasome’s expansion as a company. HBG’s deep experience in life sciences strategy, market access analysis and business development enables us to extend our reach as we finalize our phase 3 HDV-Insulin plans and look towards commercialization,” said Robert Geho, Chief Executive Officer of Diasome Pharmaceuticals.
About Diasome Pharmaceuticals
Diasome Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of therapies designed to act in the liver, a central regulator of metabolism. The company’s proprietary hepatocyte-directed vesicle (HDV™) technology is designed to preferentially target medicines to the liver and portal-hepatic region, with the goal of restoring or enhancing important metabolic signaling pathways.
Diasome’s lead program, HDV-Insulin, is designed to restore the liver’s role in mealtime insulin action and improve the balance between glycemic control and hypoglycemia risk for people who require insulin therapy. The company is also applying its liver-targeted approach to additional metabolic pathways, including GLP-1 and serotonin.
For more information, visit Diasome.com and follow Diasome on LinkedIn and X.
Corporate Contact:
Karen Donovan
Diasome Pharmaceuticals
KDonovan@diasome.com
Media Contact:
Ignacio Guerrero-Ros, Ph.D.
Russo Partners, LLC
Ignacio.guerrero-ros@russopartnersllc.com
(646) 942-5604
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