BridGene Biosciences names David Sperandio, Ph.D., as Head of Chemistry

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Aug 01, 2022, 07:33 ET

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BridGene Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company using a proprietary chemoproteomics technology to discover and develop small molecules for high value, traditionally undruggable targets, today announced that David Sperandio, Ph.D., a medicinal chemist with more than 20 years' experience, has joined the company as the Head of Chemistry.

Dr. Sperandio, an inventor on 23 patents and author of 25 peer-reviewed publications, has extensive experience leading cross-functional teams from molecule discovery through IND filing. Dr. Sperandio will lead the BridGene chemistry team and supervise research into covalent chemistry, chemical proteomics and quantitative mass spectrometry as methods for identifying undruggable targets. Additionally, Dr. Sperandio will be responsible for advancing BridGene's internal pipeline of first-in-class drugs for hard-to-drug targets in oncology.

BridGene co-founder and CEO Ping Cao, Ph.D., commented, "David's addition to our leadership team and the recent Series B financing deepen BridGene's capabilities for using IMTAC™ to discover new drugs for novel and traditionally undruggable targets. David's leadership and experience will help expand BridGene's library of molecules to identify as potential drug candidates as we aim to advance a pipeline of first-in-class drugs for these new targets."

Dr. Sperandio most recently served as an Executive Director at Biomea Fusion, where he led the team that identified BMF-500, a potential best-in-class targeted covalent FLT-3 inhibitor for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Prior to joining Biomea Fusion, Sperandio led a collaboration of R2M Pharma Inc. with Tenaya Therapeutics Inc., which discovered novel HDAC6 inhibitors for cardiovascular diseases and was key for the clinical development of TN-301, an experimental treatment for heart failure. Dr. Sperandio started his career at Celera Corp. and focused on the structure-guided discovery of covalent reversible serine-protease inhibitors. He later moved to Gilead Sciences Inc., where he led the chemistry team that discovered Alobresib (GS-5829), a novel BRD4 inhibitor for prostate cancer, and Presatorvir (GS-5806), the first small molecule RSV fusion inhibitor that reached the clinic and showed proof of concept in men.

Dr. Sperandio commented, "I am excited to join BridGene at such a dynamic time for the company. 2022 has been a remarkable year so far, and I look forward to working closely with the management team to continue to drive the success of IMTAC™."

Dr. Sperandio obtained his doctoral degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Zurich and completed his postdoctoral research at Stanford University.

About BridGene Biosciences
BridGene is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing innovative small molecules that drug traditionally undruggable targets, providing new paths to treat diseases. By using its proprietary chemoproteomics platform, IMTAC™, BridGene can screen small molecules against proteins in live cells to discover drug candidates for high value and traditionally undruggable targets. For this purpose, BridGene takes advantage of its proprietary, diverse library of tagged, drug-like small molecules. The ultimate goal is to enable breakthrough small molecule drug discovery with expanded mechanisms to treat diseases with targets previously inaccessible to small molecules. The uniqueness of BridGene's technology allows it to perform IMTAC™ screening for both covalent and non-covalent molecules, target different amino acids and discover new targets for disease treatments by deconvoluting phenotypic screening hits. The company is advancing a diversified pipeline of first-in-class drugs for targets in multiple disease areas. For more information, visit https://www.bridgenebio.com.

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SOURCE BridGene Biosciences