GreenLight Taps Health Care Experts to Join Life Sciences Advisory Board

Board Will Advise on the Development and Commercialization of mRNA Solutions for Medical Applications

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Feb 07, 2020, 09:45 ET

MEDFORD, Mass., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its expansion into human health, GreenLight Biosciences, Inc. is pleased to welcome the first members of its new Life Sciences Advisory Board. The board will guide the company through the clinical development of messenger RNA (mRNA) based vaccines and therapies.

"We are excited to bring on board a new advisory team with such deep knowledge and expertise in human health," said Dr. Andrey Zarur, CEO of GreenLight. "We will look to these leaders to help GreenLight shepherd the potential of our proprietary mRNA platform to accelerate the development of efficient mRNA medicines that will improve the lives of patients."

GreenLight's Life Sciences Advisory Board will include the following members:

Dr. Theodore (Ted) Ashburn is the President and CEO of Oncorus, Inc., a viral immunotherapies company focused on driving innovation to transform outcomes for cancer patients. Prior to joining Oncorus, Dr. Ashburn served as Head of Oncology Development at Moderna Therapeutics, Inc. He has held key leadership roles of increasing responsibility in preclinical and clinical development, business development, product strategy, manufacturing and operations at multiple emerging biotechnology, as well as established pharmaceutical companies including Sanofi Oncology and Genzyme. He started his career at Pfizer, Inc. He received his B.S. in chemistry and computer science from Ball State University, his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Mr. Luc Debruyne is a former Corporate Executive Team member of GlaxoSmithKline where, over the course of a 27-year career, he rose to President of Global Vaccines. He established GSK as the #1 Vaccines company worldwide, leading the launch of several successful vaccines including Shingrix, for shingles, and expanded the company's US presence. Broad functional leadership experience includes research and development (R&D), commercial, manufacturing and quality operations. He currently is an active contributor in the global health arena and promotes sustainable business practices. He is a graduate of the University of Leuven (KULeuven - Belgium).
Dr. Mark Dybul is a professor in Georgetown University's Department of Medicine and the co-director of their Center for Global Health Practice and Impact. He has deep expertise in infectious disease and from 2012-2017 he served as Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Prior to that he was appointed the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator by then President George W. Bush, overseeing the implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). He holds an A.B. and M.D. from Georgetown University.
Dr. Drew Weissman is a professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Weissman co-discovered the ability of modified nucleosides in RNA to suppress activation of innate immune sensors and increase the translation of mRNA containing certain modified nucleosides. Dr. Weissman's laboratory focuses on the study of RNA and innate immune system biology and the application of these findings to vaccine research, protein therapeutics, and gene therapy. He is also a member of The American Association of Immunologists, the American Federation for Clinical Research, and the Association of American Physicians. He received his graduate degrees from Boston University School of Medicine.

About GreenLight Biosciences, Inc.
GreenLight is a bio-performance company with a unique, cell-free production platform that delivers high-performing RNA solutions to human, plant and animal challenges. GreenLight develops RNA products for plant and life science applications, and collaborates with industry leaders to advance vaccine development, pandemic preparation, crop management, and plant protection. The cutting-edge, natural platform delivers higher-quality RNA at a lower cost and higher speed than was ever before possible. The GreenLight team values diversity, inclusion, and equality and promises to use collaboration to remain scientifically imaginative and passionately focused on making a difference in the world. For more information, visit https://www.greenlightbiosciences.com/.

SOURCE GreenLight