- Brings foundational experience in mRNA and LNP therapeutics given prior executive leadership roles at Moderna & Alnylam
- Will take an active role in expanding partnerships with biopharma
- Integrated partnership offering to customers remains etherna’s key differentiator – Proprietary customized mRNA chemistry and lipid nanoparticles (customized LNPs) expertise combined with GMP process knowhow
Niel, Belgium, July 09, 2024 – etherna (“the Company”), a leading mRNA technologies company, today announced the appointment of Antonin (Tony) de Fougerolles as Chair. Tony has served as an Independent Board Member since January 2023. Outgoing Chair, Marijn Dekkers will remain on the Board. In addition to his role as Chair, Tony will also take an active consultancy role for the Company.
Bernard Sagaert, etherna CEO said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be able to work more closely with Tony. His vast experience, connections and strategic vision in the field will further accelerate the development and success of the Company. I also want to thank Marijn for the close collaboration over the last 8 months, which has been inspirational.”
Tony de Fougerolles, etherna Chair added: “Over the last 18 months I have seen first-hand how the cLNPs and mRNA manufacturing expertise that etherna has developed is world leading and impressive in its quality, breadth, and novelty. The recently announced partnership with Almirall is clear recognition of this. I am excited to accept the role of Chair and look forward to actively helping Bernard and his talented team take full advantage of the exciting opportunities to help our partners bring novel mRNA-based therapeutics to patients.
Marijn Dekkers, etherna Independent Board Member noted: “Tony has already proven to be an extremely valued addition to the Board and therefore I am delighted to welcome him as my successor. His combination of scientific and entrepreneurial excellence as well as clear strategic vision will enable him, I believe, to steer etherna successfully through the next stage of its development.”
Tony de Fougerolles has foundational experience in both mRNA therapeutics and LNPs specifically through his roles at Moderna and Alnylam. He has nearly 25 years of biotech R&D experience in building out drug pipelines, and he has played a key role in developing and successfully advancing 3 new drug modalities to the market (mRNA, RNAi, single domain antibodies) and in helping build several multi-billion-dollar companies from start-up stage. As founding Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Moderna Therapeutics, he pioneered modified mRNA as a new therapeutic and vaccine drug modality and the mRNA chemistry and delivery systems that form the basis of the approved COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Prior to that, as VP of Research at Alnylam, he helped develop RNA interference (RNAi) as a new drug modality, including overseeing development of the 1st approved LNP-based RNAi delivery system and the development of several approved RNAi drugs including inclisiran. Author of over 60 scientific publications and an inventor on over 110 issued US patents, Tony has also a ‘Belgian’ connection, from his time as CSO at Ablynx (now Sanofi) where he played a key role in the approval of the 1st single domain antibody drug, caplacizumab. Most recently, Tony was CEO of Evox Therapeutics where he built out an exosome-focused biotech, raised over $140m in equity financing, and entered into pharma partnerships with combined upfronts > $60m and total deal value >$2 billion. Tony obtained his PhD in Immunology from Harvard University.
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For further information, please contact:
etherna
Bernard Sagaert
RHA Communications
Notes to Editors
About etherna
etherna is an mRNA technology platform company with fully integrated capabilities including mRNA construct design and optimization, coupled with specialized expertise in designing and manufacturing customized lipid nanoparticles (cLNP) formulations tailored for the prevention and treatment of various pathological states, providing end-to-end solutions for next generation mRNA therapeutics. The company offers this knowledge and know-how in a partnership model to drive discovery and solve challenges for partners across LNP formulation and RNA chemistry to enable delivery of cost-effective, differentiated and efficacious RNA therapeutics.
