Kriya Therapeutics tapped longtime pharma veteran Pedro Huertas as chief medical officer of its rare disease division.
Kriya Therapeutics, a member of BioSpace’s NextGen Bio “Class of 2021” life sciences startups to watch, tapped longtime pharma veteran Pedro Huertas as chief medical officer of its rare disease division.
Huertas, who previously served as CMO of Inozyme Pharma, will be responsible for the direction and execution of the company’s clinical, medical and scientific plans to advance its rare disease pipeline. With more than 30 years of experience across multiple companies, Huertas is expected to drive the company’s goal of bringing gene therapies for the treatment of rare diseases.
While at Genzyme, Huertas played a role in bringing Fabrazyme (agalsidase beta), an enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease, into multiple global markets, including the United States and Europe.
Kriya established its rare disease therapeutics division in early 2022, following the acquisition of Warden Bio. That deal brought five preclinical gene therapies aimed at glycogen storage disorders, a rare metabolic situation where the body is not able to properly store or break down glycogen, into Kriya’s developmental pipeline.
Using gene therapy technology developed at Duke University, Warden Bio was established to address those glycogen storage disorders with novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) mediated gene therapies. The rare disease division is helmed by Kunal Kishnani, the co-founder of Warden Bio.
“I’m excited to join a company with the potential to deliver several innovative, life-changing therapies to patients with rare diseases,” Huertas said in a statement. “Kriya’s fully integrated technology platform, advanced manufacturing capabilities and accomplished team offer significant advantages as it pursues its mission – and I am eager to deploy these capabilities to accelerate the delivery of gene therapies to patients who need them.”
In addition to Genzyme and Inozyme Pharma, Huertas also held chief medical officer roles at Sentien Biotechnologies and Eloxx Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Huertas also held clinical and development positions at Pfizer, Shire and Amicus.
Shankar Ramaswamy, CEO of Kriya, praised Huertas’ knowledge and said he brings “a wealth of experience” to the company as it advances its rare disease gene therapy portfolio.
“His track record of success in developing impactful medicines has earned him the respect of the rare disease community,” Ramaswamy said.
Kriya has been rapidly expanding its gene therapy programs across multiple disease indications. In March, the company struck an antibody discovery agreement with Twist Biopharma to support the development of AAV gene therapies for oncology. And in January, it forged an exclusive deal with the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation for Research Development to license next-generation complement-targeted gene therapies for geographic atrophy and other ocular diseases.
Kriya is well financed to drive its pipeline forward. In May, the company raised $270 million in a Series C financing round led by Patient Square Capital. The Series C added to the company’s financial bottom line that had already been padded by a $100 million Series B financing round in 2021, which, in turn, built on the $80.5 million it raised the previous year in a Series A funding round.
Kriya maintains a manufacturing facility in North Carolina, where it will develop its gene therapies for oncology, diabetes, severe obesity, ophthalmology and other indications.
