27 April 2021 - - US-based gene therapies developer StrideBio, Inc has appointed Deborah D. Ascheim, M.D., to the newly created position of chief medical officer, the company said.

In this role, she will lead all clinical initiatives including the strategy, design and execution of clinical trials, as StrideBio, both independently and in collaboration with key partners, advances a pipeline of therapeutic programs that utilize internally discovered, novel engineered AAV capsids that can improve potency, evade neutralizing antibodies and enhance specific tropism to tissues critical for efficacy.

Dr. Ascheim brings to StrideBio a 30-year track record of success as a physician, clinical investigator and director of national and international clinical trials, as well as extensive expertise in developing novel, disruptive therapeutic innovations including gene therapies that target rare and complex diseases.

Prior to joining StrideBio, she was president of d2a Ltd., providing independent strategic consulting to biotech and device companies, as well as academics.

From 2015 to 2019, she was chief medical officer of Capricor, Inc., a biotechnology company evaluating cardiosphere-derived cells for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Before Capricor, Dr. Ascheim was Professor of Health Policy and Medicine (Cardiology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where she was also the director of the International Center for Health Outcomes and Innovation Research's Clinical Trial Unit.

Previously, Dr. Ascheim was on faculty in the Department of Medicine and division of Cardiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University.

Since 2008, she has served on the board of Physicians for Human Rights, a not-for-profit that uses medicine and science to document and advocate against mass atrocities and severe human rights violations around the world.

Dr. Ascheim received her M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and a B.A. from Wellesley College.

Founded in 2015 based on the research of Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., and Aravind Asokan, Ph.D., StrideBio, Inc., is a fully integrated gene therapy company.

Its proprietary structure-inspired adeno-associated viral vector engineering platform (STRIVE) creates unique and differentiated capsids that overcome current limitations of first-generation gene therapies.

Key targeted improvements include reduced seroprevalence, improved tropism for specific cell types, liver de-targeting and increased gene transfer efficiency, with the potential for improved safety and reduced doses in the clinic.

StrideBio is advancing a pipeline of gene therapy candidates enabled by these novel engineered capsids, initially focused on genetically defined CNS and cardiovascular disorders.