BOSTON, Oct. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Decibel Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DBTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing transformative treatments to restore and improve hearing and balance, today announced the appointment of Kevin F. McLaughlin to its Board of Directors.
“We are pleased to welcome Kevin to the Decibel Board. He brings a wealth of biopharma experience, including guiding biotech companies through stages of increasing financial and operational maturity,” said Laurence Reid, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Decibel. “His appointment to the Board provides us with a critical strategic perspective as we continue to build a sustainable gene therapy company to develop innovating new medicines for hearing loss and balance disorders.”
Mr. McLaughlin has more than 40 years of financial and operating management experience spanning the biotech, high-tech and education industries. From 2010 to 2021, he served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Acceleron Pharma until its acquisition by Merck & Co., Inc. in December 2021. Prior to Acceleron, he was SVP and CFO of Qteros, Inc., a cellulosic biofuels company from 2009 through 2010 and was co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and director of Aptius Education, Inc., a publishing company, from 2007 through 2009. From 1996 through 2007, Mr. McLaughlin held several executive positions with PRAECIS Pharmaceuticals. He joined the company as their first CFO later becoming Chief Operating Officer, and then President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. In this capacity he was responsible for negotiating the sale of the company to GSK plc (formerly GlaxoSmithKline). Mr. McLaughlin currently serves on the boards of Stealth Bio Therapeutics and Vericel Corporation. He began his career in senior financial roles at Prime Computer and Computervision Corporation. Mr. McLaughlin received a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and an MBA from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
“I am excited to join the Decibel Board of Directors and to help Decibel continue to advance innovative medicines for the treatment of hearing and balance disorders,” said Mr. McLaughlin.
About Decibel Therapeutics
Decibel Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing transformative treatments to restore and improve hearing and balance, one of the largest areas of unmet need in medicine. Decibel has built a proprietary platform that integrates single-cell genomics and bioinformatic analyses, precision gene therapy technologies and expertise in inner ear biology. Decibel is leveraging its platform to advance gene therapies designed to selectively replace genes for the treatment of congenital, monogenic hearing loss and to regenerate inner ear hair cells for the treatment of acquired hearing and balance disorders. Decibel’s pipeline, including its lead gene therapy product candidate, DB-OTO, to treat congenital, monogenic hearing loss, is designed to deliver on our vision of creating a world of connection for people with hearing and balance disorders. For more information about Decibel Therapeutics, please visit www.decibeltx.com or follow us on Twitter.
