Lacerta Therapeutics Strengthens Its Position in the AAV Gene Therapy Space With New Leadership
ALACHUA, Fla., November 10, 2020 (Newswire.com) - Lacerta Therapeutics announces new leadership. Dr Edgar Rodriguez-Lebron, co-founder, will serve as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Co-founders and scientific advisors, Drs. Ken Warrington and Coy Heldermon, will round out the additions to the Board. We anticipate rapid advancements in our gene therapy pipelines as the founders return to fuel our growth.
Dr. Edgar Rodriguez-Lebron has held increasing roles at Lacerta as scientific advisor, Chief Scientific Officer, and now Chairman of the Board & President. Dr Rodriguez-Lebron brings over two decades of research experience and entrepreneurial leadership to Lacerta. His research on gene-based strategies to treat Huntington's disease, spinocerebellar ataxias and other neurodegenerative diseases has been funded by the NIH and multiple foundations. He has also secured tens of millions of dollars in non-dilutive funds to fuel Lacerta's growth and commitment to finding a cure for rare CNS diseases within our lifetime. Dr Rodriguez-Lebron will continue his affiliation with the University of Florida.
Dr. Ken Warrington, a Lacerta co-founder, brings over 25 years of AAV gene therapy research and an outstanding track record of technical and business development activities at global contract testing and manufacturing organizations focused on vaccine, gene, and cell therapy product development. Dr. Warrington held positions of increasing scope at Lacerta beginning as scientific advisor, Chief Technology Officer, and now an active member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Warrington has been involved in several other biotech startups including BioStem Life Sciences where he now chairs the scientific advisory board. He is currently the Head, Strategy & Innovation and a Sr. Director Business Development for GeneScript ProBio.
Dr. Coy Heldermon, a Lacerta scientific advisor, is an M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. He is a renowned researcher in medical oncology specializing in the treatment of breast cancer. His research focused on gene therapy for inherited disorders including lysosomal storage diseases. Dr Heldermon is currently affiliated with the UF Center for Pediatric Neuromuscular and Rare Diseases.
About Lacerta Therapeutics
Lacerta Therapeutics is a clinical-stage gene therapy company that is leveraging its proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector technology and manufacturing platforms to develop treatments for central nervous system and lysosomal storage diseases. Currently, Lacerta is focused on gene therapy solutions for Sanfilippo Syndrome Type B, Friedreich's ataxia, Spinocerebellar ataxia, Pompe disease, and Alzheimer's. For more information, visit www.lacertatx.com or follow us on Twitter @LacertaTxAAV.
Source: Lacerta Therapeutics
