19 Nov, 2019 Alnylam R&D Day 2019
On November 22nd, 2019, we will be hosting an R&D Day in New York City. The event will showcase Alnylam’s late stage clinical efforts, next wave programs, and platform advances. The Company will also discuss its perspective on its transition toward achieving a self-sustainable financial profile.
To view the webcast, click here. A replay of the webcast will be available at that link on November 23rd.
To view the R&D Day Presentation, click here.
The event will include presentations from Alnylam management and key opinion leaders:
John Maraganore, Ph.D. – Chief Executive Officer
Since 2002, Dr. John Maraganore has served as the CEO and a Director of Alnylam.
Prior to Alnylam, Dr. Maraganore served as an officer and a member of the management team for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. As Senior Vice President, Strategic Product Development for Millennium, he was responsible for the company’s product franchises in oncology, and cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. He was previously Vice President, Strategic Planning and M&A and, prior to that, he was General Manager of Millennium BioTherapeutics, Inc., a former subsidiary of Millennium. Before Millennium he served as Director of Molecular Biology and Director of Market and Business Development at Biogen, Inc. At Biogen, Dr. Maraganore invented and led the discovery and development of ANGIOMAX® (bivalirudin) for injection, formerly HIRULOGTM and currently marketed by The Medicines Company. Prior to Biogen, Dr. Maraganore was a scientist at ZymoGenetics, Inc., and the Upjohn Company.
Dr. Maraganore received his Masters of Science and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Board for Agios Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Board, and is a member of the BIO Executive Committee.
Akshay Vaishnaw, M.D., Ph.D. – President, Research & Development
Dr. Vaishnaw joined Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in 2006 as VP Clinical Research and has then subsequently served in various R&D roles with increasing responsibility. Akshay is currently the President of R&D. At Alnylam he leads the discovery and development of their pipeline of RNAi therapeutics, which includes the recently approved compound, Onpattro for hATTR amyloidosis with peripheral neuropathy. Prior to 2006, he was at Biogen as Senior Director, Translational Medicine. In his seven years at Biogen, Akshay was involved in many aspects of clinical research and business development, and led the effort for the approval of alefacept (AMEVIVE™ ) for chronic plaque psoriasis.
Akshay received his M.D. from the University of Wales College of Medicine, U.K., and Ph.D. from the University of London, U.K., in Molecular Immunology. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, U.K. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, U.K. Akshay is a member of the Board of Directors for Editas Medicine Inc and Scholar Rock Inc. From 2014-2018, he served a Board member of Visterra, Inc.
Eric Green – Senior Vice President & General Manager, TTR Program
Eric Green joined Alnylam in 2015 and is currently Senior Vice President and General Manager of the TTR program, comprised of ONPATTRO (patisiran) and Vutrisiran. Previously, Eric worked at Synageva BioPharma, where he was Vice President of Program and Alliance Management. In that role he was responsible for the oversight, management, and leadership of the company’s lead compound being developed as an enzyme replacement therapy for an ultra-orphan genetic disease. Prior to Synageva, he worked in roles of increasing scope and responsibility at Infinity Pharmaceuticals and at Genzyme Corporation.
Eric received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, a Masters in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Nitasha Sarswat, M.D.
Dr. Sarswat is a board certified cardiologist that specializes in advanced heart failure and heart transplantation. Dr. Sarswat has a particular expertise in cardiac amyloidosis, pulmonary hypertension and cardiac resynchronization therapy.
Along with her clinical pursuits, Dr. Sarswat also researches a variety of cardiology topics, investigating ways to improve the treatment and management of heart failure. She has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Echocardiography, American Journal of Medicine and Hospital Practice.
Puskal Garg, M.D. – Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Pushkal Garg joined Alnylam in 2014 with 15 years of experience in clinical drug development. He oversees all clinical development activities at Alnylam.
Prior to joining Alnylam, Dr. Garg served as Vice President, Global Clinical Research, Immunoscience at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). He was the strategic leader of the Immunoscience franchise and oversaw the development of multiple clinical assets across the areas of rheumatology, gastroenterology, nephrology, and transplantation. While at BMS, he was instrumental to the late-stage development and approval of Nulojix® (belatacept) for kidney transplant recipients, and for supplementary biologics license applications (BLAs) for Orencia® (abatacept). Preceding this, Dr. Garg held various roles at Millenium Pharmaceuticals, overseeing the clinical development of multiple small molecule and biologic therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory disorders.
Dr. Garg received a Bachelor of Arts with high honors in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed residency training in Internal Medicine at UCSF, was a fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Johns Hopkins University, and served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston prior to joining the industry. Dr. Garg is a member of the Board of Directors of SQZ Biotechnologies (SQZ).
Akin Akinc, Ph.D. – Vice President & General Manager, Givosiran Program
Dr. Akin Akinc joined Alnylam in 2003 and is currently Vice President and General Manager of the givosiran program. Prior to taking the GM role on givosiran, Akin was General Manager of the fitusiran program, which he led until the Alnylam-Sanofi alliance restructuring in January 2018. Previously, Akin served in roles of increasing responsibility and leadership in the research organization.
During his time at Alnylam he has led formulation teams and co-led interdisciplinary efforts focused on delivery of RNAi therapeutics and the development of RNAi platform technology.
Dr. Akinc received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Andy Orth – Senior Vice President, Head of the U.S. Region
Andy Orth joined Alnylam in 2016 and is currently Senior Vice President, Head of U.S. Region, which includes U.S. Business Account Teams, Market Access, Marketing, Patient Services and Operations. Previously, Andy served as Alnylam’s Vice President of Commercial Practice where he helped to build out Alnylam’s commercial organization and infrastructure as the company readied itself for the launch of ONPATTRO (patisiran).
Before joining Alnylam, Andy spent six years with Biogen, during which he helped launch multiple products into the US Market, with his last position being Vice-President Global Commercial Strategy, Head of Decision Support. Earlier, he spent time in Finance, Analytics and Consulting roles with Genzyme, Russell Reynolds and Amgen.
Andy received his MBA from The Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and his undergraduate degree at The University of Wisconsin.
Pritesh Gandhi, PharmD. – Vice President & General Manager, Lumasiran Program
Dr. Pritesh Gandhi joined Alnylam in 2014 and is currently Vice President and General Manager of the lumasiran program. Prior to taking the GM role on lumasiran, Pritesh was Vice President of Medical Affairs. Previously, he served as Associate Vice President of Global Medical Affairs at Sanofi Oncology, where he spearheaded and executed on the global publication, medical education, and medical communication strategy.
Earlier, he worked as Regional Director of Medical Scientific Relations at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where he managed efforts to bridge the gap between the science of eculizumab and the practice of medicine in the area of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). Preceding Alexion, he was at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he was the operational lead for the EVENT registry.
Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Pritesh held an academic appointment at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy as well as an adjunct position at The University of Massachusetts Medical School. At that time, he also practiced as Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy Specialist at UMass Memorial Health Care.
Dr. Gandhi received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and his PharmD. from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He completed a clinical residency at The University of Illinois Chicago, and is a Registered Pharmacist in the State of Illinois and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Barry Greene – President
Barry Greene joined Alnylam in 2003 and has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries.
Prior to Alnylam, Barry was General Manager of Oncology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led the company’s global strategy and execution for its oncology business, including strategic business direction and execution, culminating in the successful approval and launch of VELCADE® (bortezomib) in mid-2003. Prior to joining Millennium in February 2001, Barry served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer for Mediconsult. Preceding that, Barry’s past experiences include Vice President of Marketing and Customer Services for AstraZeneca, formerly AstraMerck; Vice President Strategic Integration with responsibility for the AstraZeneca North American post-merger integration; and Partner, Andersen Consulting, responsible for the pharmaceutical/biotechnology marketing and sales practice.
Barry received his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from University of Pittsburgh and served as Senior Scholar at Duke University, Fuqua School of Business. Barry also serves on the Boards of Acorda Therapeutics and Karyopharm Therapeutics.
Jeff Poulton – Chief Financial Officer
Jeff joined Alnylam as CFO in August 2019. Prior to joining Alnylam, Jeff served as Chief Financial Officer at Indigo Agriculture, a plant microbiome company, from January 2018 to April 2019, where he supported the initial commercial scale-up of the business, including expansion outside the U.S.
Between 2003 and December 2017, Jeff held various roles of increasing responsibility at Shire Plc, culminating in his service as Chief Financial Officer and a member of Shire’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors from January 2015 to December 2017. During his tenure at Shire, Jeff also led Shire’s rare disease U.S., LATAM, and Asia Pacific commercial operations, as well as Shire’s global rare disease business unit. Prior to Shire, Jeff led corporate finance and business development initiatives in both the gas and electric utilities industry and the materials manufacturing sector, serving in financial leadership positions at Cinergy Corp and PPG Industries. Jeff also served in the United States Navy as a Commissioned Officer.
Jeff holds a BA in Economics from Duke University and an MBA in Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of EIP Pharmaceuticals.
Yvonne Greenstreet, MBChB – Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Yvonne Greenstreet possesses 25 years of global experience in the pharmaceutical industry, where she has been in senior roles in research and development, strategy, and portfolio management. She has successfully led product development and commercialization teams in a wide range of therapy areas, bringing new medicines to patients.
Yvonne was previously Senior Vice President and Head of Medicines Development at Pfizer, and a member of the executive team for the specialty business, with accountability for a portfolio that included the immuno-inflammation, vaccine, specialty neuroscience, and rare disease areas. Prior to Pfizer, Yvonne held roles of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline, including Senior Vice President and Chief of Strategy for Research and Development, Senior Vice President for Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer for Europe.
Dr. Greenstreet received her medical degree (MBChB) from the University of Leeds, UK, and an MBA degree from INSEAD, France. She serves as a member of the board of directors of Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, and investment funds managed by Capital Research. Dr. Greenstreet also serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Rena Denoncourt – Senior Director, Vutrisiran Program Lead
Rena Denoncourt joined Alnylam in 2007 and is currently the Program Leader for Vutrisiran. She has been focused on the TTR portfolio since its inception and has held positions of increasing responsibility across various expertise areas including business planning, program and alliance management, and market access. As one of Alnylam’s first commercial employees, Rena was instrumental in the development of Alnylam’s Patient Access Philosophy and the proactive Value-Based Agreement (VBA) strategy for ONPATTRO (patisiran) with US payers.
Prior to joining Alnylam, Rena earned her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
