Disc Medicine Expands Leadership Team with Industry Veterans to Advance Hepcidin Modulating Therapies Toward the Clinic
Jonathan Yu Named Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy
William Savage, MD, PhD Appointed Vice President of Clinical Development
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Disc Medicine, a company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutic candidates for serious and debilitating hematologic diseases, today announced the appointment of Jonathan Yu as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and William Savage, MD, PhD as Vice President of Clinical Development. Together, they will work to build the company's portfolio and advance its pipeline of hepcidin pathway modulators toward the clinic to treat serious hematologic diseases.
"Both Will and Jonathan bring tremendous expertise to Disc Medicine, and I'm thrilled to welcome them to the team," said John Quisel, JD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at Disc Medicine. "Will's experience in clinical hematology will prove invaluable as we advance our pipeline of novel therapeutic candidates targeting the hepcidin pathway into the clinic, and Jonathan's extensive business acumen will be a great asset as we continue to grow the company and our portfolio."
Mr. Yu brings his experience in corporate strategy, commercialization and operations to the Disc team. Prior to joining Disc Medicine, Mr. Yu was a co-founder and Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Finance and Operations for Qpex Biopharma. He has also served in various leadership roles at The Medicines Company, most recently as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development, where he was instrumental in the divestiture of commercial-stage infectious disease assets to Melinta Therapeutics and the acquisition and subsequent integration of Rempex Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Yu has also held roles at Acceleron Pharma, SR One, and Johnson & Johnson, spanning commercial planning and assessment, business development and finance. Jonathan received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an AB in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College.
"I'm thrilled to join Disc Medicine at such an exciting stage in its growth," said Jonathan Yu, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy. "This is a special opportunity to build on the work of an exceptional founding team and create an innovative company that is specifically for patients who are suffering from hematologic diseases."
Dr. Savage brings a decade of hematology and transfusion medicine clinical research experience, having worked across academic institutions, biopharma and biotech. Prior to joining Disc Medicine, he served as Senior Medical Director at Magenta Therapeutics, where he managed clinical development activities from preclinical through phase 2 and led regulatory interactions. Prior to Magenta Therapeutics, he was the Global Clinical Development Lead in Hematology at Shire/Takeda. Before transitioning to biotech/biopharma, Dr. Savage was an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he trained in pediatric hematology/oncology and transfusion medicine. Dr. Savage received his BA in Biochemistry from Columbia University, his MD from Weill Cornell Medical College and his PhD in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
"Historically, patients with serious hematologic diseases have had limited treatment options, and the field has lacked innovation compared to other disease areas," said Will Savage, MD, PhD, Vice President of Clinical Development at Disc Medicine. "Disc's unique approach in targeting hepcidin regulation presents a compelling opportunity to bring meaningful new therapies to patients suffering from these conditions."
Disc Medicine is advancing two therapeutic programs focused on modulating hepcidin expression – a novel, orally administered matriptase-2 inhibitor which increases hepcidin expression to treat iron loading anemias, and a hemojuvelin antagonist monoclonal antibody to reduce hepcidin expression and address anemia in a range of serious inflammatory and hematologic diseases.
About Disc Medicine
Disc Medicine is a hematology company harnessing new insights in hepcidin biology to address ineffective red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in hematologic diseases. Focused on the hepcidin pathway, the master regulator of iron metabolism, Disc is developing a portfolio of first-in-class therapeutic candidates to transform the treatment of hematologic diseases. For more information, visit www.discmedicine.com.
SOURCE Disc Medicine
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