President of Johns Hopkins University joins BridgeBio to expand and deepen partnerships with academia
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on genetic diseases, announced it has appointed Ronald J. Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, to its board of directors, effective immediately.
“We are so pleased to have Ron join BridgeBio’s board of directors, especially at such a pivotal time in our understanding of genetic diseases,” said BridgeBio CEO and founder Neil Kumar, Ph.D. “We are at the dawn of a new era where companies like BridgeBio are focused on translating promising early-stage research conducted by academic scientists into meaningful medicines for patients. As the president of a university that houses one of the world’s leading academic health centers, Ron is uniquely positioned to help guide BridgeBio as it seeks to bring novel discoveries and treatments to patients.”
Serving as the 14th president of Johns Hopkins University since 2009, Daniels has championed interdisciplinary research and innovation initiatives, including the Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine Analytics Platform (PMAP), the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and the recently announced partnership among the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute. Throughout his tenure at Johns Hopkins University, he has been a vigorous advocate for translating scientific discoveries into novel technologies that directly benefit patients. Daniels has written on the challenges confronting the American biomedical research enterprise and served as chair of the Committee on The Next Generation Initiative of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in 2017-18. Prior to his role as president of Johns Hopkins, Daniels was provost and professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and dean and James M. Tory Professor of Law at the University of Toronto. Daniels is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
BridgeBio is working to revolutionize partnerships between biotech companies and biomedical research institutions, building on the company’s approach of bringing early-stage discoveries quickly and safely into the clinic and delivering treatments to patients in need. The company has valued partnerships with Boston Children’s Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Stanford University, the University of California, San Francisco, and a dozen other academic institutions. Daniels joins the board and will serve alongside experienced drug developers and biotech leaders, including Richard Scheller, Ph.D., chairman of research and development at BridgeBio, Charles Homcy, M.D., chairman of pharmaceuticals at BridgeBio, and special advisor Jennifer Cook.
“BridgeBio values the potential of basic science and early-stage academic research to advance human understanding of genetic disease and ultimately turn that understanding into treatments for patients,” said Daniels. “I’m privileged to join the board of a company that is dedicated to advancing science to improve drug delivery and save lives.”
About BridgeBio Pharma
BridgeBio is a team of experienced drug discoverers, developers and innovators working to create life-altering medicines that target well-characterized genetic diseases at their source. BridgeBio was founded in 2015 to identify and advance transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from Mendelian diseases, which are diseases that arise from defects in a single gene, and cancers with clear genetic drivers. BridgeBio's pipeline of over 20 development programs includes product candidates ranging from early discovery to late-stage development. For more information, please visit bridgebio.com.
Contact:
Ian Stone
Canale Communications
ian@canalecomm.com
(619) 849-5388
Grace Rauh
BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.
Grace.rauh@bridgebio.com
(917) 232-5478
Source: BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.