Appointment of Big Pharma executive strengthens leadership team to drive ambitious growth strategy
Coventry, UK, 10 November 2023: NanoSyrinx, a synthetic biology company developing a novel platform for targeted intracellular delivery of biologic therapeutics, today announced Anthony Johnson, M. D., has joined its Board as Non-Executive Director. Tony’s appointment forms part of the Company’s ongoing strategy to expand and strengthen its leadership team as the Company prepares for the next stage in its development.
Most recently, Tony held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Goldfinch Bio and is Chair of the Board of Directors at Outrun Therapeutics. He is a qualified physician with over 20 years of experience in senior and executive positions for early-stage biotech and pharma companies, including Senior Vice President of Early Clinical Development at AstraZeneca and similar roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline. In addition, Tony has experience in biotech fundraising and as a Venture Partner at OrbiMed Advisors. He holds an MBBS and an MD (Research) from The University of New South Wales and an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from The University of Queensland.
Tony brings extensive and broad expertise to NanoSyrinx, particularly in drug discovery and early clinical development. His appointment to the Board will support the executive team in driving further development of the Company’s technology platform, to realise its full potential in advancing intracellular medicine. The platform is based around naturally occurring ‘nanosyringes’ which are engineered to selectively deliver peptide and protein payloads – including functional gene editing enzymes and nucleases – directly to the cytosol of targeted cells. This approach aims to unlock a pipeline of previously ‘undruggable’ targets for drug development.
Dr. Joe Healey, Chief Executive Officer, NanoSyrinx said: “Tony’s experience as an outcome-driven pharmaceutical executive with extensive industry involvement, including in biotech fundraising, will be invaluable as we build momentum for the next stage of the Company’s development. Alongside existing Board members, including Dr. Steve Taylor and Dr. Jane Dancer, our team is in a fantastic position to drive this growth forward.”
Anthony Johnson, MD, Non-Executive Director, NanoSyrinx commented: “Building on over a decade of fundamental research, NanoSyrinx is creating a truly unique and exciting platform technology for the targeted intracellular delivery of biological molecules to address a wide range of unmet medical needs. Already, the Company has built an excellent team and I am looking forward to working with them, harnessing both my interest and expertise in this field, to advance the technology and help deliver safe and effective medicines for patients.”