SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nitrome Biosciences (Nitrome), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing a platform around its newly discovered class of enzymes to target Parkinson’s disease and many other age-related and inflammation disorders, today announced that it has appointed Perry Karsen, a seasoned leader with 35 years of life sciences experience, as executive chairman of its board of directors.
“Perry is a highly respected industry executive with significant expertise in leading and growing successful biopharmaceutical companies,” said Irene Griswold-Prenner, Ph.D., founder, chief executive officer and chief scientific officer of Nitrome. “Perry’s strategic counsel and business acumen will be invaluable to Nitrome as we build out a wholly-owned first-in-class enzyme therapeutics platform based on our novel scientific discoveries.”
Perry Karsen was the chief executive officer of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, a division of Celgene Corporation, from 2013 until his retirement in 2015. Previously, Perry held the position of executive vice president and chief operations officer at Celgene, serving in various management positions, including as senior vice president and head of worldwide business development and president of the Asia/Pacific region. Perry was the president and chief executive officer of Pearl Therapeutics, a biotechnology company subsequently acquired by Astra-Zeneca. In addition, Perry held executive positions at Human Genome Sciences, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech and Abbott Laboratories earlier in his career. He also was a general partner at Pequot Ventures focusing on investments in biotechnology and medical devices. Perry has a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from the University of Illinois, Urbana, a Master of Arts in teaching biology from Duke University, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Perry serves on the board of directors and as chair of several private and public biotechnology companies, and on the board of The Gladstone Foundation. He is also a former member of the board of directors and the executive committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
Perry Karsen added, “I am very excited to be a part of the Nitrome team and look forward to helping the company realize the vast potential for patients of its enzyme therapeutics platform. Irene’s breakthrough discovery could be the key to unraveling degeneration evidenced in many age and inflammation related conditions. The potential for Nitrome to advance science and medicine while impacting patients is profound.”
About Nitrome Biosciences
Nitrome Biosciences is a platform company developing drugs against a newly identified class of enzymes which play a harmful role in a variety of age and inflammation dependent diseases. The therapies that Nitrome is developing will target these enzymes and potentially help slow or halt the progression of diseases including Parkinson’s, Nitrome’s lead indication. The company also aims to expand its proprietary platform to include other diseases, such as other neurodegenerative diseases, macular degeneration, heart disease and cancer. Nitrome has been widely recognized and has won multiple awards including the prestigious Target Advancement grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.nitromebiosciences.com.
Investor Relations Contact:
Alexandra Santos
Wheelhouse Life Science Advisors
asantos@wheelhouselsa.com
Media Contact:
Aljanae Reynolds
Wheelhouse Life Science Advisors
areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com