PFÄFFIKON, Switzerland, July 1, 2021 – DiNAQOR, a genetic medicine platform company focused on addressing severe inherited cardiac diseases, today announced that it has expanded the company’s board of directors with three new cardiovascular industry and academic experts: Louis G. Lange, M.D., Ph.D.; Steven Zelenkofske, D.O., M.S.; and Silke Rickert-Sperling, M.D.
“We are extremely proud to welcome these three renowned experts in cardiology, whose backgrounds span industry leadership and scientific innovation, to the DiNAQOR board of directors,” commented Johannes Holzmeister, M.D., Chairman and CEO at DiNAQOR. “Lou Lange is an industry pioneer, with an inspiring career as a biotech entrepreneur and leader; Steve Zelenkofske has an exceptional track record of clinical development and regulatory approval successes; and Silke Rickert-Sperling is a visionary researcher in cardiovascular genetics. All three of these leaders will provide invaluable counsel and support to DiNAQOR as we embark on a phase of rapid expansion to develop novel genetic treatments for the failing heart.”
Dr. Lange has over two decades of experience in academic medicine and over three decades of expertise in the biopharma industry. Dr. Lange is a serial biotech entrepreneur and General Partner at Asset Management Ventures, a healthcare venture capital investment firm. He founded and led CV Therapeutics, taking the company public and leading the clinical development, regulatory approval and commercial launches of Lexiscan® and Ranexa®, a billion dollar, first-in-class, late sodium channel blocker and the first anti-anginal drug class approved in the U.S. in 30 years. Dr. Lange led the sale of CV Therapeutics to Gilead Sciences in 2009 for $1.4 billion, and remained a Senior Advisor to the CEO of Gilead for a decade. He has founded several other biotech companies, two of which were acquired by GE Healthcare and Audentes. Dr. Lange has also been on numerous public and private boards including Audentes where he remained a Lead Director until the company’s sale to Astellas Pharma in 2020. Prior to his career in industry, Dr. Lange served as Chief of Cardiology and Professor of Medicine at Jewish Hospital, Washington University and was one of the first academicians in molecular cardiology. He has served on the board of trustees of the University of Rochester since 1998.
Dr. Zelenkofske has more than two decades of biopharma, medical device and gene therapy industry expertise and over a decade of cardiovascular academic and clinical experience. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer at SwanBio Therapeutics, a gene therapy company. Previously, he served as the CMO at Achillion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage company focused on complement inhibitors; as CMO of UniQure, a clinical stage gene therapy company focused on genetic diseases; and as CMO at Regado Biosciences. Dr. Zelenkofske is an expert in clinical development and adaptive trial design and operations and has been responsible for over a dozen New Drug Application filings and regulatory approvals throughout his career. He has held leadership positions at Astra-Zeneca, Sanofi-Aventis, Boston Scientific and Novartis. Prior to his career in industry, Dr. Zelenkofske served on the cardiology and electrophysiology teams with Lehigh Valley Heart Specialists, Heart Care Group, Cardiology Care Specialists, and Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia.
Dr. Rickert-Sperling is Professor of Cardiovascular Genetics at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy at Freie Universität Berlin. Her interdisciplinary background comprises advanced degrees in medicine, molecular biology and bioinformatics. For over a decade, Dr. Rickert-Sperling served as Head of Research Group Cardiovascular Genetics, at the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics, an interdisciplinary research group she founded with physicians, bioinformaticians and wetlab scientists. Dr. Rickert-Sperling’s laboratory discovered the genetic basis of complex cardiac defects, structural defects and cardiomyopathies. Her laboratory also revealed complex genetic, epigenetic and transcriptional networks that regulate cardiac development, cardiomyocyte fate establishment as well as function in normal and diseased state. Dr. Rickert-Sperling is Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and has held seats on various scientific and editorial boards including the Berlin Institute of Health and the European Society of Human Genetics. Dr. Rickert-Sperling is an active impact angel investor and is engaged in a successful portfolio of health start-ups in Europe and the U.S.
About DiNAQOR
DiNAQOR is a genetic medicine platform company focused on advancing novel solutions for patients suffering from severe, inherited forms of heart disease. The company is headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, with additional presence in Boston, Massachusetts, Hamburg, Germany, and London, England. For more information visit www.dinaqor.com.
Contact
KWM Communications
Kellie Walsh
914-315-6072
kwalsh@kwmcommunications.com