CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yumanity Therapeutics, a company focused on discovering and developing transformative therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointment of Patricia “Patty” Allen to its Board of Directors and chairperson of the Audit Committee. Ms. Allen has more than 25 years of financial leadership experience in the biotechnology industry. She has been critical to the growth of several leading publicly-traded and privately-held companies.

“Patty is a seasoned professional whose guidance and experience will be of tremendous value during this critical stage of growth as we advance our first programs into the clinic,” said Tony Coles, M.D., chairperson and co-founding investor of Yumanity Therapeutics. “Her experience raising capital will ensure that we are well-positioned to achieve our goals in 2020 and beyond.”

“As one of the few companies focused on identifying truly novel pathways to develop potentially disease-modifying therapies for people with devastating neurodegenerative diseases, Yumanity Therapeutics is poised to make an indelible impact on human health,” said Ms. Allen. “I look forward to working with the other members of the board of directors and the rest of the team to help realize the vision Sue and Tony had when co-founding the company in 2014.”

About Patricia Allen

Ms. Allen currently serves as chief financial officer of Zafgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZFGN), where she leads all aspects of finance, investor relations, communications, human resources, information technology, as well as facilities management and operations. She has helped raise capital and led or actively participated in successful initial public offerings at Alkermes, Alnylam, Zafgen and most recently Deciphera Pharmaceuticals.

Prior to Zafgen, Ms. Allen provided consulting services to biotechnology companies in fundraising, strategic long-range planning, organizational structure, and business development. Previously, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY), most recently serving as vice president of finance, treasurer, and principal financial officer. During her tenure, Alnylam maintained an industry-leading net cash position and consistently hit external cash management and financial goals.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Allen spent 12 years at Alkermes as director of finance, assistant secretary, and corporate controller. Ms. Allen was an audit manager at Deloitte & Touche where she started her career. She serves on the board of directors at Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DCPH), where she also is the chairperson of the Audit Committee. Ms. Allen graduated summa cum laude from Bryant College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

About Yumanity Therapeutics

Yumanity Therapeutics is transforming drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein misfolding. Formed in 2014 by renowned biotech industry leader, Tony Coles, M.D., and protein folding science pioneer, Susan Lindquist, Ph.D., the company is focused on discovering disease-modifying therapies for patients with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Leveraging its discovery engine, Yumanity Therapeutics’ innovative new approach to drug discovery and development concentrates on reversing the cellular phenotypes and disease pathologies caused by protein misfolding. For more information, please visit yumanity.com.