WATERTOWN, Mass., Feb. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kymera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: KYMR), a biopharmaceutical company advancing targeted protein degradation to deliver novel small molecule protein degrader medicines, today announced the appointments of Ashwin Gollerkeri, MD, as Senior Vice President, Head of Development, and Kevin Dushney, as Vice President, Information Technology, as well as the promotion of Karen Martin, JD, PhD to Vice President, Head of Legal.

“We continue to grow and broaden our organizational capabilities as we evolve toward becoming a fully integrated degrader medicines company,” said Nello Mainolfi, PhD, Co-Founder, President and CEO, Kymera Therapeutics. “In 2021, we expect to make significant strides in this mission with three novel protein degrader programs planned to enter clinical development across healthy volunteers, immune-inflammatory diseases and cancer patients. We expect to benefit considerably from Ashwin’s expertise and track record in leading the development and approval of novel targeted oncology medicines. Further, Kevin and Karen will be important leaders in critical functions that will help guide Kymera toward becoming a fully integrated degrader medicine company.”

Ashwin Gollerkeri, MD, Senior Vice President, Head of Development
Dr. Gollerkeri joins Kymera with 20 years of drug development experience, including service at Pfizer Inc., Array BioPharma, Novartis AG, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS). As Vice President of Clinical Science-Oncology at Array, Dr. Gollerkeri’s efforts led to successful filings of New Drug Applications for the targeted cancer therapies BRAFTOVI^® (encorafenib) and MEKTOVI^® (binimetinib). He has also held various leadership roles in clinical development and research at Pfizer, Novartis, and BMS. He holds a BA degree in Cell and Developmental Biology from Northwestern University and an MD from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He subsequently trained in Internal Medicine and completed a Chief Residency at The Miriam Hospital-Brown University School of Medicine and in Medical Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine.

Kevin Dushney, Vice President, Information Technology
Mr. Dushney joins Kymera with over 20 years of experience in information technology (IT) in the biopharmaceutical industry, including extensive experience in planning, designing, and implementing innovative IT strategies and solutions to support growth across preclinical to commercial-stage organizations. He previously held IT and operations leadership roles at Editas Medicine, Inc., Synageva Biopharma Corp., Zafgen, Inc., Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and others. Mr. Dushney received a BA degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Karen Martin, JD, PhD, Vice President, Head of Legal
Dr. Martin joined Kymera in April 2020 as Vice President, Head of Intellectual Property, with over 16 years of legal experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to Kymera, she was Lead IP Counsel, US Business Unit at Takeda Pharmaceuticals (formerly Shire PLC), where she developed patent and trademark portfolios for assets in oncology, ophthalmology, and rare diseases. She previously practiced intellectual property law at Wolf Greenfield & Sacks. Dr. Martin obtained her law degree from Suffolk University Law School and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS in Chemistry from Boston College.

About Kymera Therapeutics
Kymera Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing the field of targeted protein degradation, a transformative new approach to address previously intractable disease targets. Kymera’s Pegasus™ targeted protein degradation platform harnesses the body’s natural protein recycling machinery to degrade disease-causing proteins, with a focus on undrugged nodes in validated pathways currently inaccessible with conventional therapeutics. Kymera is accelerating drug discovery with an unmatched ability to target and degrade the most intractable of proteins, and advance new treatment options for patients. Kymera’s initial programs target IRAK4, IRAKIMiD, and STAT3 within the IL-1R/TLR or JAK/STAT pathways, providing the opportunity to treat a broad range of immune-inflammatory diseases, hematologic malignancies, and solid tumors. For more information, visit www.kymeratx.com.