WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYRA), a clinical-stage therapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel integrated drug and delivery solutions for the localized treatment of patients with ear, nose and throat (ENT) diseases, today announced that Robert Kern, MD has been named Chief Medical Officer. He will also remain in his current position as the George A. Sisson Professor and Chair, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Kern is the immediate past president of the American Rhinologic Society and current President of the International Society of Inflammation and Allergy of the Nose. He is a highly regarded clinician and researcher with a long history of leadership in the field of sinonasal disorders.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Kern, who is a renowned physician in the ENT field and a world-leading expert in chronic rhinosinusitis, to the Lyra team as our Chief Medical Officer, to oversee the development of our clinical pipeline,” said Maria Palasis, PhD, CEO of Lyra Therapeutics. “Dr. Kern has a proven track record of global leadership in otolaryngology, in both academic research and clinical rhinology, that we believe will prove invaluable to Lyra’s successful development of LYR-210 and LYR-220.”

“I know firsthand the enormous need for new treatment options for CRS patients, and I am enthusiastic to guide the next phase of clinical development for LYR-210 and LYR-220,” said Dr. Kern. “Lyra established a clear proof of concept for LYR-210 with the recent positive LANTERN Phase 2 results, and I am pleased to join the dynamic leadership team to help advance Lyra’s next stage of growth as we work together to address the needs of underserved patients chronically suffering with CRS.”

Dr. Kern has 30 years of experience in the ENT medical field. He joined the Northwestern faculty over two decades ago, and was appointed as Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology in 2006. His ENT clinical practice focuses around complex sinonasal disease and endoscopic skull base surgery and he has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Kern attended medical school at the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and completed an otolaryngology residency at Wayne State University as well as a two-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) research training fellowship. He has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.

About Lyra Therapeutics

Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage therapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel integrated drug and delivery solutions for the localized treatment of patients with ear, nose and throat (ENT) diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, LYR-210, is designed to deliver up to six months of continuous anti-inflammatory drug therapy to the sinonasal passages for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in patients who have not undergone surgery for the disease. Lyra is also developing LYR-220 for CRS patients who have undergone a prior surgery and have persistent disease. Beyond CRS, the company believes its XTreo™ platform, comprised of drug administered through a bioresorbable polymeric matrix, has the potential to address other disease areas by precisely, consistently and locally delivering medicines for sustained periods with a single administration.

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