Novome Biotechnologies Appoints Dr. Lachy McLean as Chief Medical Officer
McLean to lead the Company’s enteric hyperoxaluria program into Phase 1/2a clinical proof-of-concept, and to advance its Genetically Engineered Microbial Medicines (GEMMs) platform to address additional high unmet need diseases
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novome Biotechnologies, Inc., a biotechnology company engineering first-in-class, living medicines for chronic diseases, today announced the appointment of Lachy McLean, MBChB, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer. An experienced biopharmaceutical executive, Dr. McLean brings to Novome significant clinical drug development and translational medicine experience.
Dr. McLean, a board-certified Rheumatologist, has been involved in developing innovative medicines from nonclinical research through to late-stage drug development, most recently as Head of Research at Travere Therapeutics (formerly Retrophin). Prior to Travere, for more than a decade, Dr. McLean held positions of increasing responsibility at Takeda Pharmaceuticals including Vice President and Global Head of Translational Clinical Science Immunology where he oversaw research and development programs for many early- to mid-stage molecules. Prior to Takeda, Dr. McLean was a Medical Director at Genentech where he was the clinical team leader for several immunology programs. He also held Director-level clinical research positions at Merck and AstraZeneca. Prior to industry, Dr. McLean was a Rheumatologist and Investigator at the University of Auckland.
“Lachy brings a wealth of experience to the Novome team, particularly in his breadth of experience across early- to late-stage clinical research and drug development in therapeutic areas highly-relevant to Novome’s GEMMs platform and pipeline,” said Blake Wise, Chief Executive Officer of Novome Biotechnologies. “Lachy is uniquely suited to join Novome as we transition to a clinical-stage company—I have no doubt that he will play a critical role in guiding and executing our lead clinical development candidate for the treatment of enteric hyperoxaluria and advancing other preclinical programs across our pipeline of GEMMs candidates, including in ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome.”
Dr. McLean earned a BMedSci and a MBChB (equivalent to an MD) from the University of Otago in New Zealand. He earned a PhD in Immunology from the University of London. His education also includes a fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Dr. McLean is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FFPM) in the United Kingdom and of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). Dr. McLean has contributed to the medical literature as the lead or co-author on over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.
“I believe that Novome’s platform for colonizing the gut with therapeutically engineered bacteria has broad potential for human health, and I am very impressed with the progress the team has made in advancing towards first-in-human trials,” said Dr. McLean. “I look forward to applying my experience to build on the success of Novome’s progress with the lead program in enteric hyperoxaluria, a disease with no FDA-approved therapies, and to advance a pipeline addressing additional high unmet need indications.”
About Novome
Novome Biotechnologies, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing engineered cellular therapies for the gut to treat chronic diseases. The Company has developed the first platform for the controlled colonization of the gut with engineered bacteria to deliver targeted therapeutic cargos and functions, enabling first-in-class living therapeutics: Genetically Engineered Microbial Medicines (GEMMs). Novome is utilizing its proprietary GEMMs platform in its lead program in enteric hyperoxaluria, which is focused on the development of a therapeutic strain of bacteria that degrades oxalate to decrease the risk of kidney stone formation. Efforts are also directed toward advancing pipeline indications in ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and immuno-oncology. For more information, please visit the Novome Biotechnologies website at https://novomebio.com/
Source: Novome Biotechnologies, Inc.
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