Silence Therapeutics, PLC (LON: SLN) a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel RNA therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases, is pleased to announce the appointment of Giles Campion, MD as Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer, effective 1 June 2019.
An expert in translational medicine, Dr. Campion is a highly experienced biotech and pharmaceutical professional, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the industry. Most notably he served as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of R&D at Prosensa from 2009 to 2016, a European biotech company advancing oligonucleotide therapies for rare diseases, notably Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). During this time the company signed a collaboration agreement with GSK worth up to $655 million with double digit royalties. Prosensa went on to list on Nasdaq in 2013, raising $90 million in an initial public offering nine times oversubscribed, and was ultimately acquired by Biomarin in 2015 for $680 million.
Previously, Giles held senior R&D roles at Novartis where he was a key member of a task force that defined the shape of a new integrated research organisation. Most recently, he served as Chief Medical Officer for Albumedix , Advisor to Myotherix, and a co-founder of PepGen, all companies focusing on therapies for rare diseases. At Albumedix his remit was to build a development portfolio based on the company’s recombinant albumin platform and his work was instrumental in product development and an eventual financial exit for the owners of the company.
Dr. Campion holds a medical degree and doctorate from Bristol University and is Board certified in rheumatology.
Commenting on the appointment, Dr. David Horn Solomon, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“On behalf of the Board of Silence Therapeutics, I am delighted to welcome Giles as the new Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer. He has an outstanding track record of leading scientific development and advancing oligonucleotide-based medicines and is therefore ideally qualified to accelerate the development of our current and future pipeline. Giles is a valuable addition to the management team and his expertise will help the company to deliver on its core mission of tackling the unmet medical needs of patients suffering from rare conditions.”
Dr. Giles Campion, newly appointed Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer of Silence Therapeutics, said:
“Silence Therapeutics is at the forefront of an extremely promising new class of RNA therapeutics and offers an exciting approach to tackling the unmet medical needs of patients suffering from serious diseases. I look forward to working with David and the management team as the Company looks to advance into the clinic in 2019 with the planned commencement of clinical trials for lead candidate SLN124 in Iron Overload Disorders including Beta Thalassemia.”
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