Ring Therapeutics Announces the Appointment of Industry Leaders to its Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ring Therapeutics, a life sciences company founded by Flagship Pioneering to revolutionize gene therapy with its commensal virome platform, today announced the appointments of Francois Nader, MD, MBA, David Epstein, MBA, and B. Lynne Parshall, Esq., to its Board of Directors.

“We are excited to welcome industry veterans, Dr. Francois Nader, Mr. David Epstein, and Ms. B. Lynne Parshall, to our Board of Directors,” said Tuyen Ong, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer at Ring and CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering. “All have exceptional proven track records of pioneering in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries and bring a wealth of expertise and experience to Ring. We look forward to leveraging their strategic guidance as we work to advance our Anellogy™ platform to revolutionize programmable medicines with next generation viral vectors.”

Dr. Nader joins Ring’s Board with extensive experience in the biotech industry and currently serves as chairman of Talaris Therapeutics, Benevolent AI and Neurvati Biosciences, as board director of Moderna, and as senior advisor of Blackstone Life Sciences. Previously, Dr. Nader was Chief Executive Officer of NPS Pharma where he transformed NPS Pharma into a leading global biotechnology company focused on delivering innovative therapies to patients with rare diseases. Before NPS, Dr. Nader was a venture partner at Care Capital, and he served on the North America Leadership Team of Aventis and its predecessor companies holding a number of executive positions. Previously, he led the global commercial operations at the Pasteur Vaccines’ division of Rhone-Poulenc. Dr. Nader earned his French Doctorate in Medicine from St. Joseph University (Lebanon) and his Physician Executive MBA from the University of Tennessee.

Mr. Epstein brings more than 25 years of extensive drug development, leadership, and commercialization experience to Ring’s Board of Directors. He currently serves as executive partner at Flagship Pioneering, chairman of Axcella Health, chairman of Rubius Therapeutics, and chairman of Evelo Biosciences. Previously, he served as chief executive officer of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a division of Novartis AG, and prior to this, Mr. Epstein started and led Novartis’ Oncology and Molecular Diagnostic units. Under his leadership, the company’s oncology business grew to the second largest in the world. Over the course of his career, Mr. Epstein led the development and commercialization of over 30 new molecular entities and was named by FierceBiotech as one of the “25 most influential people in biopharma.” Mr. Epstein holds a BS in pharmacy from Rutgers University College of Pharmacy and an MBA in finance and marketing from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.  

Ms. Parshall brings nearly 30 years of experience in strategy, finance, and operations in the biotechnology industry. She currently serves as the Senior Strategic Advisor at Ionis Pharmaceuticals where she’s held numerous other positions including chief financial officer and chief operating officer. At Ionis, she oversaw all business functions and was responsible for designing and implementing the strategy fueling Ionis’ growth into a multibillion-dollar company. Ms. Parshall serves on the Board of Directors of Ionis, Cytokinetics, and Repertoire Immune Medicines. Prior to Ionis, she practiced law at Cooley LLP and remains a member of the American and California Bar Associations. Ms. Parshall holds a BS from Harvard University and a JD degree from Stanford Law School.

Dr. Nader, Mr. Epstein, and Ms. Parshall bring their drug research, development, and commercialization experience to Ring’s board to complement manufacturing veteran Hari Pujar, MBA, Ph.D., COO of Tessera Therapeutics, in addition to Ring co-founder and biochemistry expert Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D., and Ring CEO and gene therapy pioneer Tuyen Ong, MD, MBA.

Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D., Flagship Pioneering Partner, Ring Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, added, “The appointment of key industry leaders Dr. Nader, Mr. Epstein and Ms. Parshall showcases the exceptional promise that Ring and its proprietary technology have in transforming the programmable medicine space. I look forward to working with this group of pioneers as we strive to create a new class of life-saving therapies with our Anellogy™ platform.”

About Ring Therapeutics
Ring Therapeutics is revolutionizing the programmable medicine space by harnessing the most abundant and diverse member of the human commensal virome, anelloviruses. The company developed the Anellogy™ platform centered on the uniquely immune-favored anelloviruses to potentially treat a broad range of diseases. Through harnessing the unique properties of these commensal viruses, the Anellogy™ platform generates diverse vectors and that exhibit both tissue-specific tropism and the potential to be re-dosed. Ring Therapeutics, founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2017, aims to develop and further expand its portfolio by leveraging its platform to unlock the full potential of gene therapy and nucleic acid medicines, enabling a variety of therapeutic mechanisms in a wide array of organs and tissues. To learn more, visit https://www.ringtx.com/ or follow us on Twitter at @Ring_tx.

Ring Therapeutics Media:
Brittany Leigh, Ph.D.
LifeSci Communications
bleigh@lifescicomms.com
+1-813-767-7801