MDRNA has named
J. Michael French,
formerly of Sirna
Therapeutics, as
Chief Executive
Officer
Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. announced that having acquired shareholder approval, effective immediately the Company has changed its name to MDRNA, Inc. MDRNA will leverage its scientific and intellectual property (IP) position surrounding the research, development and delivery of Dicer substrates and "Meroduplex" (mdRNA) RNA interference (RNAi) drug candidates to build an industry-leading position in the development and commercialization of RNAi-based therapeutics. In addition to its license through the City of Hope to Dicer substrate IP, MDRNA will leverage its portfolio of delivery IP, including an issued patent on the "Trp Cage" phage display library for generating tissue-homing peptides. The company'ss stock will trade on NASDAQ under the symbol MRNA.
As part of its new corporate and scientific focus, MDRNA has named J. Michael French, formerly of Sirna Therapeutics, as Chief Executive Officer, effective June 23, 2008. French succeeds Steven C. Quay, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Quay has been appointed Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman of MDRNA's Scientific Advisory Board and will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors.
French was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Sirna Therapeutics, one of the leading RNAi companies, from 2005 until 2007 when the company was acquired by Merck. He also served as Chief Business Officer for Entelos, Inc., a pre-IPO biotechnology company and previously held a variety of positions at other healthcare companies, including HealthIQ, Farma Biagini and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. He also served for 13 years in the United States Army and Army Reserve. French holds a M.S. degree in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University and a B.S. degree in aerospace engineering from the United States Military Academy.
MDRNA is pursuing pre-clinical RNAi programs in influenza and rheumatoid arthritis, from which it will identify appropriate target candidates for partnering and clinical development. The company believes it has been building one of the broadest and deepest patent estates in the RNAi field, with more than 260 filed patents addressing 144 gene sequences including numerous disease-validated targets. MDRNA is also looking to monetize its legacy nasal drug delivery business through licensing, partnering or acquisition of its Phase II intranasal programs, including its ultra rapid acting insulin for diabetes, Peptide YY3-36 for obesity and parathyroid hormone (PTH1-34) for osteoporosis.
