CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Third Harmonic Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a potent, highly selective, oral KIT inhibitor for the treatment of severe allergy and inflammation, today announced the appointment of Edward R. Conner, M.D., to chief medical officer (CMO). Dr. Conner brings to the Company extensive experience in clinical development, translational medicine and clinical strategy, with broad experience in early- to late-stage and post-marketing products. As CMO, Dr. Conner will oversee the clinical development strategy for the Company’s lead product candidate, THB001, a potent, highly selective, oral small molecule wild-type KIT inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of chronic urticaria.

“Ed’s proven track record of developing medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including allergy and inflammation, will be instrumental as we advance THB001 through clinical development and expand our pipeline beyond our initial indication of chronic urticaria,” said Natalie Holles, chief executive officer of Third Harmonic Bio. “I’m thrilled to be working with Ed again given his outstanding clinical development leadership and focus on efficiently building the right capabilities, team and culture.”

Dr. Conner joins Third Harmonic Bio from Locanabio, where he served as chief medical officer. Prior to Locanabio, Dr. Conner was site lead and division head of medical and development for Astellas Gene Therapies (formerly Audentes Therapeutics). Prior to Astellas’ acquisition of Audentes, he served as CMO and senior vice president of Audentes Therapeutics, where he led functions including clinical development and operations, medical affairs, regulatory, drug safety and patient advocacy. Before Audentes, Dr. Conner served as chief medical officer of Sangamo Therapeutics. Earlier in his career, he was a medical director at Genentech, Inc. (now a member of the Roche Group) where he led clinical development programs for XOLAIR^® (omalizumab) for the treatment of chronic urticaria and allergic asthma.

“Third Harmonic Bio has a significant opportunity to improve the lives of patients living with chronic urticaria, a severe inflammatory skin condition in which currently available therapies do not sufficiently control the disease for many patients, and no new treatment options have been approved in several years,” said Edward R. Conner, M.D., chief medical officer of Third Harmonic Bio. “I’m excited to advance this new investigational medicine through the clinic and explore additional development opportunities across a range of other indications where THB001 may provide benefit to patients living with mast cell-driven inflammatory diseases.”

Dr. Conner earned a medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Michigan and his fellowship in clinical immunology and allergic diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Duke University.

About Third Harmonic Bio

Third Harmonic Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing the next wave of medicine for allergy and inflammation. The company’s lead product candidate, THB001, is a highly selective, oral small-molecule inhibitor of KIT, a cell surface receptor that serves as the master regulator of mast cell function and survival. The company is in Phase 1a clinical trial in healthy volunteer for THB001 and anticipates initiating a Phase 1b proof-of-concept study in cold-inducible urticaria during the second half of 2022. With promising drug-like properties and an encouraging early clinical profile, THB001 has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of a broad range of dermatologic, respiratory and gastrointestinal allergic and mast-cell-mediated inflammatory diseases. Visit ThirdHarmonicBio.com or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to learn more about our work, team, and culture.

XOLAIR^® is a registered trademark of Novartis AG.

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