CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Platelet BioGenesis (PBG), the leader in stem cell-derived, on-demand human platelets (PLTs+) and platelet-based therapeutics, announced today the addition of Dr. Richard Murray, president and CEO of Jounce Therapeutics, to its board of directors. An industry veteran, Dr. Murray has led Jounce since 2014, prior to which he served in multiple notable leadership roles, including senior vice president, biologics & vaccines research at Merck & Co. Inc. Jounce, based in Cambridge, is a publicly traded, clinical stage company focused on novel cancer immunotherapies.
“Rich’s expertise will be invaluable as we advance our PLT+™ platform toward IND and continue to explore the power of designer platelets as a novel approach to immuno-oncology treatment,” said Jonathan Thon, Ph.D., PBG co-founder and CEO. “In addition to oncology and immunotherapy knowledge, Rich’s experience as a senior leader of biopharma companies of all sizes and his alignment with our culture make him an incredibly valuable resource to our growing team.”
PBG is working to create a new class of cancer treatments based on stem cell-derived designer platelets that produce powerful biologics, such as anticancer drugs, and which can deliver those drugs directly to the site of malignancy.
“The potential for designer platelets as a novel means of improving the efficacy and safety of cancer treatments is a very exciting approach for the field,” said Dr. Murray. “I admire the work PBG has already done developing its platform and team and I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this innovative company.”
Prior to his executive positions with Jounce and Merck, Dr. Murray provided strategic guidance to protein therapeutic biotech companies and served as an advisor to venture capital and life science investors. He was the executive vice president and chief scientific officer at PDL BioPharma and was co-founder and vice president of research at EOS Biotechnology, which was acquired in 2003 by Protein Design Labs.
About Platelet BioGenesis
Platelet BioGenesis is a venture-backed, development stage biotech company creating the world’s first donor-independent source of platelets to address the chronic platelet shortage that affects patients worldwide. The company has developed and patented a scalable cGMP-compliant process to generate platelets from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Based in Cambridge, Mass., Platelet BioGenesis is also developing designer platelets (PLTs+™), a new class of therapeutics to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The company was spun out of Harvard University and has received funding from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense. Learn more at plateletbiogenesis.com and follow us on Twitter @plateletbio.
