Dr. Brian Metcalf Joins Distinguished Scientists on Boragen’s Scientific Advisory Board

Under Dr. Metcalf’s direction, GBT’s voxelotor (sold under the brand name Oxbryta®) was approved for sickle cell anemia in 2019. Earlier he served as Head of Drug Discovery at Incyte Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure at Incyte, the company was transformed from a genomics information company to one focused on drug discovery, culminating in the discovery of Jakafi®, a JAK1/2 kinase inhibitor. Jakafi was approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis in 2011.

“There are many attractive applications of the Boragen platform in drug discovery,” said Dr. Metcalf upon joining the Scientific Advisory Board. Other positions Metcalf has held include the Chief Scientific Officer of Kosan Biosciences and several executive roles with SmithKline Beecham over the course of 17 years. Dr. Metcalf is also credited with the discovery of Sabril®, for epilepsy, and has numerous patents and publications in the drug discovery arena.

Boragen’s Scientific Advisory board is comprised of distinguished scientists working toward discovery and development of boron-based platform technology for wide-ranging applications in agriculture, animal health, and human health. Members currently include Dr. Peter Hertl, former Head of Global Regulatory and Product Safety for Syngenta; Dr. Jake Plattner, former Sr. Vice President of Research for Anacor Pharmaceuticals; Dr. Robert Steffens, former Vice President of Product Development for Bayer; and Dr. Mark Zettler, an advisor and strategist for food and ag tech startups and investors.

ABOUT BORAGEN

Boragen, founded in 2015 by world-renowned experts in boron chemistry, is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The company utilizes boron’s unique properties to design and develop novel solutions targeting needs in crop protection, animal health and human health. To date, the company has developed a unique boron-based screening library targeting diverse biological applications. For more information visit www.boragenbio.com.

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