Metagenomi Appoints Luis Borges, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and Pamela Wapnick, MBA, as Chief Financial Officer

November 9, 2023 |

4 min read

Metagenomi today announced the appointment of Luis Borges, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and Pamela Wapnick, MBA, as Chief Financial Officer.

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Metagenomi, a precision genetic medicines company committed to developing curative therapeutics for patients by leveraging its metagenomics-derived genome editing toolbox, today announced the appointment of Luis Borges, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and Pamela Wapnick, MBA, as Chief Financial Officer.

“I am excited to welcome Luis and Pamela to expand the scientific and financial strength of our leadership team,” said Brian C. Thomas, Ph.D., CEO and founder of Metagenomi. “The talent, experience, and in-depth knowledge that Luis and Pamela bring will be instrumental in the execution of our strategy at a time when Metagenomi is rapidly advancing multiple therapeutic programs towards clinical development. I am proud of the world-class team we have assembled, driven by our passion and commitment to develop curative therapeutics for patients using our proprietary, metagenomics-derived genome editing toolbox.”

Dr. Luis Borges joins Metagenomi in the role of Chief Scientific Officer with more than 27 years of scientific and executive leadership experience in both biopharma and startup biotech companies. Dr. Borges was most recently Chief Scientific Officer at Century Therapeutics, where he successfully built a multifunctional discovery and translational research organization. Prior to Century, he served as Chief Scientific Officer at Cell Medica, Senior Vice President of Research at Five Prime Therapeutics, and Scientific Director in Amgen’s Therapeutic Innovation Unit. Dr. Borges brings scientific and operational rigor and decades of experience in drug development. This includes both discovery research and translational science, having helped to advance multiple drug development candidates from IND filing into clinical development and onward through FDA approval. In his role at Metagenomi, Dr. Borges will oversee the discovery and systematic advancement of the Company’s next-generation gene editing technologies to accelerate their pathway to clinical translation for in vivo and ex vivo applications. Dr. Borges holds a Ph.D. in pathology from the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Dr. Borges commented, “I am excited to join Metagenomi at this critical time where the company’s gene editing toolbox and preclinical programs are rapidly advancing. Our gene editing systems offer unique advantages to address genetic disorders driven by deletions, insertions, single-base-pair changes, and sequence repeats, that are found throughout the genome and across a variety of different cell types and organ systems. I believe Metagenomi is uniquely positioned to select the optimal tool to unlock the full potential of genome editing for patients suffering from serious illnesses.”

Pamela Wapnick has more than 20 years of diversified financial leadership experience spanning strategic and operational finance roles. Prior to joining Metagenomi, Pamela served as Chief Financial Officer at several biotech and medical technology companies including Diality, Capsida Biotherapeutics, and Graybug Vision, where she built the finance functions and led financial planning and strategy. As Chief Financial Officer at True North Therapeutics, Pamela completed preparations for an initial public offering before the company’s acquisition by Bioverativ. Prior to that, she served in various executive leadership roles at Amgen, including Corporate Treasurer and Vice President R&D Finance, where she was responsible for a $3 billion global R&D budget focused on advancing research and pipeline programs. Pamela holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA in Economics from Wellesley College.

“I’m thrilled to join Metagenomi at such a pivotal time for the company. With its strong financial foundation, I look forward to steering the company towards the next phase on its mission to develop curative gene editing therapeutics,” said Wapnick.

About Metagenomi

Metagenomi is a gene editing company committed to developing potentially curative therapeutics by leveraging a proprietary toolbox of next-generation gene editing systems to accurately edit DNA where current technologies cannot. Our metagenomics-powered discovery platform and analytical expertise reveal novel cellular machinery sourced from otherwise unknown organisms. We adapt and forge these naturally evolved systems into powerful gene editing systems that are ultra-small, extremely efficient, highly specific and have a decreased risk of immune response. These systems fuel our pipeline of novel medicines. Our goal is to revolutionize gene editing for the benefit of patients around the world. For more information, please visit https://metagenomi.co.