Company also announces appointment of Tom Hughes, Boston-based biotech builder and CEO of Navitor Pharmaceuticals, to board of directors.
Company now advancing multiple programs in neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders.
TORONTO – November 5, 2020. Deep Genomics, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) therapeutics company, announced today the appointment of Amanda Kay, Ph.D., to the newly created role of Chief Business Officer. Amanda will oversee an expansion of partnership strategy at Deep Genomics and lead corporate strategy as the company works to advance drug discovery and development efforts powered by its expanding platform, called the AI Workbench.
The AI Workbench enables accurate prediction of drug development outcomes so as to accelerate discovery and development timelines and increase the rate of success in finding highly efficacious therapies. Because it is modular and built using the highest engineering standards, the AI Workbench can be iteratively improved and additional capabilities can be added to address new therapeutic opportunities. The AI Workbench combines deep learning, automation, advanced biomedical knowledge and massive amounts of in vitro and in vivo data to accurately identify targetable molecular mechanisms and guide the discovery and development of oligonucleotide therapies.
“Amanda joins at a critical inflection point for Deep Genomics. The evolution of our AI Workbench has allowed us to rapidly identify genetically defined targets and design compounds with high therapeutic potential,” said Brendan Frey, Ph.D., FRSC, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Deep Genomics. “We are now advancing a broad pipeline of pre-clinical programs. However, the number of programs and our ability to advance even more programs far exceeds our clinical development capacity. To address the needs of patients, Amanda will oversee a massive expansion of our partnership strategy. This will enable us to tap into the clinical development and commercialization capabilities of other leading pharmaceutical companies.”
“I’m excited to work with Brendan and the team to deliver on the promise of our platform and bring new medicines to patients,” said Kay. “I’ve been wondering about what AI means for drug development for some time; there’s a lot of talk out there that sounds like magic. When I met the Deep Genomics team and heard about their AI Workbench, the advantages of AI became real for me. What they are doing is very tangible and the benefits of their AI for different aspects of drug development can, and have, been measured. I am certain that the ability to quickly predict and develop high-potential drug candidates will make Deep Genomics an important collaboration partner."
The company also announced today the appointment of Thomas E. Hughes, Ph.D., CEO of Navitor Pharmaceuticals, to the Deep Genomics board of directors.
“Tom is an accomplished Boston-based biotech entrepreneur, who is very highly regarded for building and leading biotech companies, leading programs into the clinic, and successfully securing private and public financing,” said Frey. “Tom’s insights and experience will be a valuable addition to our board as we work to scale our efforts and advance a number of high potential programs towards the clinic and into partnerships.”
Hughes commented, “I have been incredibly impressed with the accomplishments of Brendan's team to – in just a few short years –build and rapidly scale what I see as a breakthrough drug discovery platform. I’m looking forward to working closely with him and the leadership team at Deep Genomics to fully realize the potential of their efforts.”
Dr. Amanda Kay is a biopharmaceutical executive with broad experience and expertise - across strategy development, operating plan implementation, business development, commercialization, financial planning and analysis, and R&D operations - married to a passion for working with scientists to translate innovative drug platform technologies into products that address unmet patient need. Prior to joining Deep Genomics, she was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and a member of the executive team at Synlogic, Inc., a clinical-stage company, where she led business development, corporate strategy, alliance management, and new product commercialization efforts for a new class of living medicines. She played a key role in defining the company’s strategy, leading to both the company’s public launch and financings, raising more than $160M in equity. Prior to joining Synlogic, Amanda served as Chief Operating Officer for Pfizer’s Inflammation and Immunology Research Unit, driving development of strategy and operations across portfolio, BD, finance, and HR functions. Ultimately, the unit delivered an industry-leading pipeline with eight programs now in ten Phase 2 or Phase 3 studies. Previously, Amanda was a strategic lead on the marketing team for transplant and oncology products at Genzyme. She began her business career at L.E.K. Consulting, where she led more than fifty engagements, with clients ranging from start-ups to pharmaceutical companies. Amanda received her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard University.
Thomas Hughes has more than 30 years of industry experience in the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. He has served since 2018 as CEO of Navitor Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge Massachusetts. Prior to joining Navitor, Thomas served as President and CSO of Zafgen and previously led Zafgen as CEO from 2008 to 2017. During this time, he established Zafgen as a leading biotechnology company working in the area of rare and prevalent metabolic disorders and led the company through its IPO in 2014. Prior to Zafgen, Thomas held several positions at Novartis including Global Head of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Therapeutic Area at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, MA. In these roles, he oversaw many drug discovery and development projects targeting major global aging-related health issues, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. In addition to serving on the board of Deep Genomics Inc., Thomas served on the board of miRagen Therapeutics Inc. from 2009 to 2020, and is a member of several scientific and strategic advisory boards, including Broadview Ventures, HotSpot Therapeutics, and FaunaBio. Thomas holds a PhD in nutritional biochemistry from Tufts University, an MS in zoology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, and a BA in biology from Franklin and Marshall College.
About Deep Genomics. Deep Genomics is a therapeutics company founded on computational biology and artificial intelligence. Its AI-based systems, datasets, processes and culture enables the intentional design of effective and highly safe genetic medicines with a speed and a success rate that far exceed what was previously possible. The AI, genome biology, software engineering and preclinical research team is located in the heart of Toronto, Canada, next to the University of Toronto, four research hospitals, three medical research institutes, and the AI research labs of Google, Uber and the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. The clinical and business development teams are based in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.deepgenomics.com and follow us on Twitter at @deepgenomics.