Atomic AI Adds Bristol Myers Squibb Veteran Dr. Manjunath Ramarao as Chief Scientific Officer

Former BMS, Pfizer leader to help AI-driven company accelerate its development of novel medicines discovered via its proprietary RNA foundation model

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Atomic AI, a biotechnology company fusing cutting-edge machine learning with state-of-the-art structural biology to unlock RNA drug discovery, today announced the addition of Manjunath “Manju” Ramarao, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. With over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Ramarao brings extensive multidisciplinary experience in biopharmaceutical research and preclinical therapeutic development.

“Since our inception in 2021, we’ve made substantial advancements with our exclusive Platform for AI-driven RNA Structure Exploration (PARSE), uncovering new avenues to pursue in the field of RNA therapeutics,” said Raphael Townshend, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Atomic AI. “With Manjunath on board, we now have the opportunity to identify and advance RNA candidates for development in diseases that were once deemed undruggable. We welcome Manju to the Atomic AI family!”

Prior to joining Atomic, Dr. Ramarao was Chief Scientific Officer at Ribometrix where he was responsible for enabling the company’s technology platform and establishing the pipeline of small molecule programs. Previously, he was at Bristol Myers Squibb as part of the Biocon-Bristol Myers Squibb R&D Center (BBRC) in Bangalore, India and held numerous leadership positions, most recently as Executive Director, Site Leader for Research and Early Development and Head of Discovery Biology and Translational Medicine. During Dr. Ramarao’s tenure at BBRC, he helped develop therapeutic platforms and a pipeline of portfolio programs across various therapeutic domains, such as oncology, neurology, immunology, fibrosis and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Ramarao was also Principal Research Investigator at Pfizer (Wyeth) in Cambridge, MA. He holds a BSc and MSc from Bangalore University, India, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His post-graduate experience included a post-doctoral fellowship and an instructor position at Harvard Medical School.

“Atomic AI has developed an impressive platform leveraging a sophisticated AI technology that is set to revolutionize the drug discovery and development paradigm,” said Dr. Ramarao. “I’m excited to work with Raphael and the entire Atomic AI team to expedite the development of next generation medicines and bring potentially innovative treatments to patients, especially those individuals suffering from hard-to-treat diseases.”

About Atomic AI

Atomic AI is an emerging biotechnology company exploiting the cutting-edge fusion of artificial intelligence and structural biology to unlock RNA drug discovery. Based on research prominently featured in Science, Atomic AI’s proprietary R&D platform leverages state-of-the-art deep learning foundation models integrated into a virtuous cycle with purpose-designed, in-house wet-lab assays, to discover and design proprietary 3D RNA structural datasets. Backed by an interdisciplinary team of machine learning researchers, engineers, and experimental biologists, as well as strategic scientific advisers and world-class investors, Atomic AI is leading the way in AI-augmented structural biology and transforming the design of RNA-targeted and RNA-based medicines to treat undruggable diseases. To learn more, visit atomic.ai and engage with us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

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