Orna Therapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to engineering immune cells in vivo to treat oncology and autoimmune diseases, announced the appointment of Joseph Bolen, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Bolen most recently served as Orna’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and succeeds Amit Munshi who is stepping aside for personal reasons.
Orna expects to initiate clinical studies in 2026 for its two wholly owned, potentially best-in-class in vivo panCAR assets, including its CD19 program for B cell-driven autoimmune diseases and a BCMA program for multiple myeloma. In addition to its wholly owned pipeline, Orna has secured two major, potentially multi-billion-dollar pharma partnerships with Merck for the development of vaccines and therapeutics in infectious disease and oncology and with Vertex for next generation approaches to sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.
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“At its core, Orna is a science driven organization that has greatly benefited from Joe’s breadth and depth of drug development expertise,” said Ansbert Gadicke, M.D., Chairman of Orna and Managing Partner of MPM BioImpact. “This is the perfect time for Joe to take the helm as Orna advances both its proprietary programs in autoimmune and oncology to the clinic. Joe’s scientific expertise and organizational leadership capabilities, in conjunction with the Company’s strong cash position, will enable us to achieve key milestones across our wholly owned and partnered programs.”
Dr. Gadicke continued, “Amit leaves Orna in a strong position and we would like to express our deep appreciation for his commitment and contributions.”
SOURCE: PRNewswire