12 June 2019 - - US-based biopharmaceutical company Acceleron Pharma Inc.'s (NASDAQ: XLRN) co-founder Tom Maniatis, PhD, is retiring from his position on its board of directors and will continue to serve the organisation in an advisory capacity as director Emeritus, the company said.
Maniatis is a co-founder, chief executive officer, and scientific director of the New York Genome Center, the Isidore Edelman Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a member of the Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute at Columbia University.
With multiple prestigious scientific honors to his name, he is also a pioneer in the biotechnology industry, having co-founded Genetics Institute in 1980, ProScript in 1994, and Kallyope Pharma in 2016.
Luspatercept is an investigational therapy that is not approved for any use in any country.
Luspatercept is a first-in-class erythroid maturation agent that regulates late-stage red blood cell maturation. Acceleron and Celgene are jointly developing luspatercept as part of a global collaboration.
A Phase 3 trial (COMMANDS) in ESA-naïve, lower-risk MDS patients, the BEYOND Phase 2 trial in non-transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, and a Phase 2 trial in myelofibrosis are ongoing.
Acceleron is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases.
The company's leadership in the understanding of TGF-beta superfamily biology and protein engineering generates innovative compounds that engage the body's ability to regulate cellular growth and repair.
Acceleron focuses its research and development efforts in hematologic, neuromuscular, and pulmonary diseases. In hematology, the company and its global collaboration partner, Celgene, are developing luspatercept for the treatment of chronic anemia in myelodysplastic syndromes, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis.
Acceleron is also advancing its neuromuscular program with ACE-083, a locally-acting Myostatin+ agent in Phase 2 development in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and is conducting a Phase 2 pulmonary program with sotatercept in pulmonary arterial hypertension.