Chroma Medicine Strengthens Leadership with Addition of George Golumbeski to Board of Directors and John Maraganore as Strategic Advisor
George Golumbeski, Ph.D., former EVP of Business Development at Celgene, brings 25+ years of biotech industry experience to Chroma’s Board of Directors
John Maraganore, Ph.D., founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and biotech industry leader, joins the company as Strategic Advisor to the Board of Directors and Leadership Team
Cambridge, MA, May 24, 2022 – Chroma Medicine, Inc., (Chroma) a genomic medicine company pioneering epigenetic editing therapeutics, today announced the appointment of George Golumbeski, Ph.D., former Executive Vice President of Business Development at Celgene, as an Independent Director and John Maraganore, Ph.D., former CEO of Alnylam, as a Strategic Advisor.
“We are thrilled to welcome George and John to the Chroma team. They are both remarkable pioneers in building leading biotechnology companies that have brought important innovative treatments to patients,” said Catherine Stehman-Breen, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Chroma. “Their deep experience will be invaluable to Chroma and the Board during this period of growth, and I look forward to working closely with George and John as we realize Chroma’s mission of delivering precision cures for patients suffering from serious disease.”
Dr. Golumbeski brings more than 25 years of business development experience to the Board and has a track record of forging groundbreaking collaborations between biotech companies focused on delivering state-of-the-art medicines to patients.
“Epigenetic editing holds the potential to be transformative in the treatment of disease,” said Dr. Golumbeski. “I am eager to work with the Chroma team to help bring breakthrough therapeutics to patients with critical illnesses.”
Dr. Maraganore, a veteran in the biotech industry, brings decades of experience and scientific and strategic insight to his role. During his tenure at Alnylam, he led the company’s pioneering work in RNA interference from inception through global approval and commercialization of the first four novel RNAi therapeutics. He was also responsible for the company’s value creation strategy, raising over $7.5 billion and forming over 20 major pharmaceutical alliances.
“Chroma is well positioned to advance its pipeline of industry-leading epigenetic editors to durably and precisely control gene expression,” said Dr. Maraganore. “I am excited to provide strategic guidance to the leadership team and support the company’s ongoing development.”
About George Golumbeski, Ph.D.
Dr. Golumbeski is currently a Partner at DROIA Ventures and serves on the on the Board of several life sciences companies. Prior to this role, he led business development at Celgene, where he was responsible for strategic collaborations and acquisitions, product in- and out-licensing, and relationship management. Previously, he was Vice President of Business Development, Licensing, and Strategy at Novartis, and held leadership positions at several biotech and pharmaceutical companies, including Elan Pharmaceuticals and Schwarz Pharma. Dr. Golumbeski earned his Ph.D. in genetics/molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a B.A. in biology from the University of Virginia.
About John Maraganore, Ph.D.
At Alnylam, Dr. Maraganore guided the company’s strategy for pioneering RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, raising over $7.5 billion to support corporate growth and establishing strategic collaborations with leading global pharma companies—resulting in approval and commercialization of the world’s first RNAi medicines (ONPATTRO®, GIVLAARI®, OXLUMO®, and LEQVIO®). Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Product Development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, along with leadership roles at Biogen and Zymogenetics. Dr. Maraganore earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Chicago, and serves on the Board of several professional organizations and biotech companies.
# # #
About Chroma Medicine
Chroma Medicine is a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of genomic medicines that harness epigenetics, nature’s innate mechanism for gene regulation, to deliver new treatments for patients with genetically driven diseases. The company was founded by the world’s foremost experts in genomic research and is led by a veteran team of industry leaders and scientists with deep experience in genomic medicine, drug discovery, and development. For more information, please visit chromamedicine.com or follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Media Contact
Lia Dangelico
Verge Scientific Communications
540.303.0180
ldangelico@vergescientific.com