AUSTIN, Texas, May 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc., (NASDAQ:AGLE) a biotechnology company committed to developing enzyme-based therapeutics in the field of amino acid metabolism to treat inborn errors of metabolism and cancer, today announced it has named Sandra Rojas-Caro, M.D. to the position of chief medical officer.
Dr. Rojas-Caro will oversee the medical strategy and clinical development of Aeglea’s pipeline. She brings more than 15 years of protein therapeutics and small molecule drug development experience to Aeglea. She served as group vice president of Clinical Research and Development at Synageva BioPharma where she was instrumental in leading the medical team and where she made significant contributions to the approval of Kanuma™ (sebelipase alpha) for the treatment of lysosomal acid lipase deficiency and advancing the clinical development of other programs in the area of inborn errors of metabolism. This includes SBC-103 for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB (MPS IIIB). Following the acquisition of Synageva by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Rojas-Caro served as vice president and R&D project team leader for SBC-103 at Alexion Research, where she supported the integration post-merger. Prior to Alexion/Synageva, Dr. Rojas-Caro held roles in clinical and translational research with increasing levels of responsibility at Roche, Array BioPharma and Pfizer, where she was responsible for the design and implementation of early development clinical strategy across a broad range of indications including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, pain and diabetes.
“We are extremely pleased to have Dr. Rojas-Caro join the Aeglea leadership team as chief medical officer. She brings expertise and knowledge in the area of protein-based rare disease therapeutics and metabolism, and a track record of advancing the clinical development of needed drug therapies. Her leadership is anticipated to bring us closer to realizing our goal of improving the lives of patients,” said David G. Lowe, PhD, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Aeglea.
“I am delighted to be joining Aeglea at such a pivotal point in the company’s evolution,” said Dr. Rojas-Caro. “Aeglea has an exciting portfolio. It will be my privilege to lead the development activities for our lead product candidate AEB1102, while continuing to advance both our pipeline and platform for the treatment of patients with unmet medical needs.”
Dr. Rojas-Caro received her bachelor of science in medicine and her M.D. from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She trained in Molecular Biology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland with Professor Walther Wahli who is internationally recognized for his contributions to the area of energy metabolism.
About Aeglea BioTherapeutics
Aeglea is a biotechnology company committed to developing enzyme-based therapeutics in the field of amino acid metabolism to treat inborn errors of metabolism and cancer. The company’s engineered human enzymes are designed to degrade specific amino acids in the blood in order to reduce toxic levels of amino acids in inborn errors of metabolism or to exploit the dependence of certain cancers on specific amino acids. In addition to the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial in solid tumors with its lead product candidate AEB1102, Aeglea expects to begin trials in 2016 of AEB1102 in patients with Arginase I deficiency and in cancer patients with hematological malignancies. The company is building a pipeline of additional product candidates targeting key amino acids, including AEB4104, which degrades homocystine, a target for an inborn error of metabolism, as well as two potential treatments for cancer, AEB3103, which degrades cysteine/cystine, and AEB2109, which degrades methionine.
For more information, visit http://aegleabio.com.
Safe Harbor / Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding the timing and success of our clinical trials, success in our collaborations and the potential therapeutic benefits and economic value of our lead product candidate or other product candidates. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect our business and its financial results are detailed in our Prospectus dated April 6, 2016 filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4), and other reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.