Warp
Drive Bio, a life sciences company using proprietary genomic
technology to transform the discovery and development of therapeutics
derived from natural products, today announced the appointment of
Laurence Reid, Ph.D., to chief executive officer. Dr. Reid succeeds CEO
and co-founder Gregory Verdine, Ph.D., who will continue to serve the
company as president and chief scientific officer, as well as chairman
of the company’s scientific advisory board. Dr. Verdine will also remain
on Warp Drive Bio’s board of directors and will retain his appointment
as a venture partner with Third Rock Ventures.
Dr. Reid brings to Warp Drive more than 25 years of experience in the
global biopharmaceutical industry, with a focus on building innovative
companies. He is an entrepreneur-in-residence at Third Rock Ventures,
and most recently served as the chief business officer of Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), where he led various business
functions, including business development, and established several
transformative alliances for Alnylam.
“Over the past three years, we have built a fundamentally new and
powerful drug discovery engine. Our mission going forward is to use that
engine to advance multiple, first-in-class medicines into the clinic,”
said Dr. Verdine. “The appointment of such a talented and accomplished
scientist and leader as Laurence sets Warp Drive Bio on a strong path
for its next stage of growth. I look forward to collaborating with
Laurence to bring transformative medicines to patients in need.”
“Warp Drive Bio’s pioneering natural products platform is transforming
the discovery of ‘nature’s’ drugs, which have the potential to solve
problems that have confounded the industry over many years,” said Dr.
Reid. “Under Greg’s leadership, Warp Drive has established an
extraordinary discovery team building a distinctive and powerful drug
discovery engine. I look forward to working with him and the rest of the
Warp Drive Bio team to help the company realize its bold vision.”
Prior to Alnylam, Dr. Reid served as chief business officer at Ensemble
Therapeutics, where he led the development and implementation of key
business strategies for the company's therapeutic and diagnostic
portfolios, as well as executed several major discovery alliances. Dr.
Reid’s previous entrepreneurial experiences include the founding of
startup companies in the fields of stem cell therapeutics and
inflammation. He spent 10 years at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
where he worked in a range of general management and business
development positions, including general manager of Millennium UK and
vice president of business development for the company's predictive
medicine efforts. Before joining Millennium, he was an assistant editor
of the premier journal Cell. Dr. Reid holds a Ph.D. from London
University and a B.A. from Cambridge University. He is a member of the
board of directors of The Possible Project.
About Warp Drive Bio
Warp Drive Bio is driving the reemergence of natural products in the era
of genomics to create breakthrough treatments that make an important
difference in the lives of patients. Built upon the belief that nature
is the world’s most powerful medicinal chemist, Warp Drive Bio is
deploying a battery of state-of-the-art technologies to access powerful
drugs that are now hidden within microbes. Key to the Warp Drive Bio
approach is the company’s proprietary “genomic search engine” and
customized search queries that enable hidden natural products to be
revealed on the basis of their distinctive genomic signature. The
company was launched in 2012 through a groundbreaking strategic
partnership with Sanofi and with financing from Third Rock Ventures and
Greylock Partners. For more information, please visit www.warpdrivebio.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2015