Oxford, United Kingdom – 15 November 2024 – OMass Therapeutics (‘OMass’ or ‘the Company’), a biotechnology company identifying medicines against highly validated target ecosystems such as membrane proteins or intracellular complexes, today announces the appointment of Professor Steven Charlton as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), effective 1 December 2024. He will take on the role from Dr Ali Jazayeri, who is leaving OMass to pursue other opportunities.
Steven has over two decades of scientific leadership, drug discovery and membrane protein expertise. Steven joined OMass as Vice President of Pharmacology in February 2020 when OMass acquired the pharmacology team of Excellerate Bioscience, a contract research organisation (CRO) specialising in molecular pharmacology solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, which Steven co-founded and where he was CSO. His career also includes significant roles at SmithKline Beecham and Novartis, including Director of Molecular Pharmacology in Respiratory Diseases at Novartis. In this role, he led an assay development and compound profiling department, providing expert support for GPCR and other membrane protein targets. He also led several discovery projects that delivered drug candidates into clinical development and served on development teams covering late clinical development through post-launch. His contributions earned him the Novartis Leading Scientist Award in 2007, recognising his impact on quantitative pharmacology and the Novartis drug pipeline.
In addition to his position at OMass, Steven is Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Discovery in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham.
Professor Steven Charlton, incoming Chief Scientific Officer at OMass Therapeutics, said: “I am delighted to take the role of CSO at such an exciting time, as we advance our MC2 program towards the clinic. Building on the progress made under Ali’s leadership, I look forward to working alongside our skilled and talented management team as we grow OMass into a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, bringing transformative medicines to patients in need.”
Ros Deegan, Chief Executive Officer of OMass Therapeutics, added: “Steven’s deep expertise in drug discovery comes at a pivotal moment as we advance our first clinical candidate. His expanded role will be instrumental in accelerating our pipeline of novel small molecules. I also want to acknowledge Ali’s transformative contributions as CSO in establishing our unique approach to drug discovery. His guidance has set strong foundations for our continued success.”
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
| OMass Therapeutics | ICR Healthcare |
| Rosamond Deegan, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +44 (0) 1235 527589 Email: ros.deegan@omass.com
|
Sue Charles / Sukaina Virji / Kumail Waljee
Phone: +44 (0)20 3709 5700 Email: omass@icrhealthcare.com
|
About OMass Therapeutics
OMass Therapeutics is a biotechnology company discovering medicines against highly-validated target ecosystems, such as membrane proteins or intracellular complexes.
OdyssION™, OMass’ unique drug discovery platform, comprises next-generation native mass spectrometry with novel biochemistry techniques and custom chemistry to interrogate not just a drug target, but also the interaction of the target with its native ecosystem, separate from the confounding complexity of the cell. This unique approach results in cell-system fidelity with cell-free precision.
OMass is advancing a pipeline of small molecule therapeutics in rare diseases and immunological conditions. Its lead programme is a best-in-class MC2 (melanocortin-2) receptor antagonist for the treatment of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) and Cushing’s Syndrome. The focus of the program has been to increase receptor residency time to make OMass’ antagonists resistant to competition by the endogenous ligand, thereby avoiding loss of efficacy in the face of rising adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels due to reductions in glucocorticoid supplementation for CAH or progression of Cushing’s Syndrome.
Headquartered in Oxford, UK, OMass has raised over $160M (£129M) from a top-tier international investor syndicate including Syncona, Oxford Science Enterprises, GV, Northpond Ventures, Sanofi Ventures and British Patient Capital.
To learn more, please visit www.omass.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and X.