Rapport Therapeutics Appoints Pioneering Industry Leader John Maraganore to Board of Directors

March 19, 2024 |

3 min read

Rapport Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the appointment of John Maraganore, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors.

BOSTON & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rapport Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging the science of receptor-associated proteins (RAPs) to advance precision neuromedicines, today announced the appointment of John Maraganore, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Maraganore, former founding Chief Executive Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Alnylam), currently serves as Venture Partner at both ARCH Venture Partners and Atlas Ventures, as Senior Advisor at Blackstone Life Sciences, and as Principal and Chief Executive Officer at JMM Innovations, LLC.

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John Maraganore, Ph.D.

“As Rapport sets out to build a leading precision neuroscience company, we are incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Maraganore join our board,” said Abraham Ceesay, Chief Executive Officer of Rapport. “John is among a few visionary leaders who have guided a new modality from concept to a dynamic platform for drug discovery. He has been a driving force for innovation within our industry, and we believe his leadership will be indispensable as we work to advance our pipeline and potentially deliver much-needed new treatment options to patients with neurological disorders.”

“I am thrilled to once again work alongside John to help Rapport realize its vision to become a preeminent precision neuroscience company. John has an impressive track record of building great science-based companies. His wisdom and experience will be invaluable as we advance our pipeline of precision neuroscience product candidates to positively impact the lives of those affected by debilitating neurological conditions,” said Steve Paul M.D., Chairman of the Rapport Board of Directors and Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures.

Dr. Maraganore served as founding CEO of Alnylam from 2002 to 2021, where he led the development of a novel class of medicines, referred to as RNAi therapeutics. Under his leadership, Alnylam built over $25 billion in market capitalization, established more than 20 major pharmaceutical alliances and saw the approval and commercialization of four of its RNAi medicines, ONPATTRO^®, GIVLAARI^®, OXLUMO^®, and Leqvio^®. Prior to founding Alnylam, Dr. Maraganore held leadership positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Biogen, Inc. He also previously served as Chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. Dr. Maraganore received his B.A. in biological sciences and M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Chicago.

“There’s a significant need and opportunity for new approaches in the treatment of neurological disorders, and Rapport has the potential to revolutionize care with its transformational science,” said Dr. Maraganore. “I’m honored to work with a team of such talented and accomplished individuals in these exciting times for both the company and the field at large.”

About Rapport (www.rapportrx.com)
Rapport is developing a new class of precision neuromedicines aimed at providing patients with better alternatives to existing treatments for central nervous system disorders. Current options often come with debilitating and intolerable side effects, leading to suboptimal dosing and noncompliance that limit drug efficacy and can result in discontinuation. The company’s platform, built and refined over the past decade by its founding scientific team, is designed to achieve precision through the discovery and targeting of receptor-associated proteins, or RAPs, which display regional or neural circuit-specific expression. By more precisely targeting the diseased brain regions, Rapport believes its platform has the potential to improve tolerability and clinical benefit. Rapport has ongoing clinical trials in epilepsy and discovery-stage programs in neuropathic pain, hearing disorders and bipolar disorder.