– USA, MA – Scholar Rock (NASDAQ: SRRK), a biopharmaceutical company today announced the appointment of Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju to its Board as an independent director.
With over two decades of fundamentals-based, long-term investment experience in the biotechnology sector, Dr. Akkaraju will add valuable experience and insight to Scholar Rock’s Board of Directors as the company advances its late-stage development pipeline and also invests in its robust discovery programs.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Akkaraju to Scholar Rock’s Board of Directors as we continue to expand upon our diverse network of experienced biotechnology company-builders,” said founding CEO, Nagesh Mahanthappa. “Dr. Akkaraju’s deep understanding of our scientific platform, our clinical programs and the complexities of the biotech capital markets, will be an invaluable addition to our Board as we work diligently to accelerate our highly innovative therapeutic candidate for spinal muscular atrophy through its Phase 3 clinical trial and begin planning for our first potential commercial launch.”
About Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju
In 2017, Dr. Akkaraju founded Samsara BioCapital, where he currently serves as Managing General Partner. A biotech investment fund that recently invested in Scholar Rock’s completed registered direct offering, Samsara is focused on translating cutting-edge biology into new therapies to treat patients with unmet medical needs. Before Samara, Dr. Akkaraju held key strategic, leadership, operational, and advisory roles at various venture capital firms focusing on the biopharmaceutical and life science industries, including Sofinnova Investment, Inc., New Leaf Venture Partners, and Panorama Capital, LLC. Before co-founding Panorama Capital in 2005, he served as a Partner with J.P. Morgan Partners and advised on Business and Corporate Development at Genentech, Inc.
“I have always been passionate about supporting innovation that has transformative potential for patients and I am inspired by Scholar Rock’s mission and data-driven approach making use of its proprietary platform to modulate growth factors in the TGFβ superfamily to achieve differentiated pharmacology with huge therapeutic potential,” said Dr. Akkaraju. “I have been closely following Scholar Rock’s progress over several years, and I am looking forward to partnering with the Board and the executive leadership team as we continue advancing the company’s progress towards improving the current standard of care for a range of serious diseases.”
Dr. Akkaraju received his M.D. and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University and his undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Computer Science from Rice University. He also serves as a director of Chinook Therapeutics, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Syros Pharmaceuticals, and Jiya Acquisition Corp. Previously, Dr. Akkaraju served as a director on the Boards of Seattle Genetics, Barrier Therapeutics, Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, ZS Pharma, Synageva Biopharma Corp., aTyr Pharma, and Amarin Corporation plc.
About Scholar Rock
Scholar Rock is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines for the treatment of serious diseases in which signaling by protein growth factors plays a fundamental role. Scholar Rock is creating a pipeline of novel product candidates with the potential to transform the lives of patients suffering from a wide range of serious diseases, including neuromuscular disorders, cancer, and fibrosis. Scholar Rock’s approach to targeting the molecular mechanisms of growth factor activation enabled it to develop a proprietary platform for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies that locally and selectively target these signaling proteins at the cellular level. By developing product candidates that act in the disease microenvironment, the Company intends to avoid the historical challenges associated with inhibiting growth factors for therapeutic effect. Scholar Rock believes its focus on biologically validated growth factors may facilitate a more efficient development path.
For more information, visit www.ScholarRock.com
- Disclaimer - News, data, and statements included in this release are intended exclusively for general information purposes. Talent4Boards does not guarantee that news is accurate or about the correct person and accepts neither liability for the consequences of the reader’s reliance, nor responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Nothing in this release should be considered for decisions about referred securities. Products and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.