CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –, Nov. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fulcrum Therapeutics, Inc.® (Nasdaq: FULC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients with genetically defined rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Santiago Arroyo, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer, and Jeff W. Jacobs, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer.
“We are thrilled to welcome Drs. Arroyo and Jacobs to our executive team,” said Bryan Stuart, Chief Executive Officer at Fulcrum. “Dr. Arroyo has extensive experience leading clinical development at multiple biotech companies, most recently developing novel therapeutics to treat rare, immune-mediated diseases at Momenta Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Jacobs has a lengthy history in preclinical drug development, including spearheading the discovery of two drugs that have commercially launched. Their scientific and clinical expertise will be invaluable to Fulcrum as we advance our portfolio of transformative therapies.”
Santiago Arroyo, M.D., Ph.D. – Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Arroyo brings to Fulcrum nearly 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience, leading the clinical development of therapeutics across multiple disease areas. In his role as Chief Medical Officer at Momenta Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Dr. Arroyo led the clinical development of the company’s broad portfolio of hematology, neurology, immunology, and materno-fetal therapeutics. Previously, he was the Chief Medical Officer of Boston Pharmaceuticals. Before that, he held multiple clinical roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer, where he was the Head of Clinical Research and Chief Medical Officer for Pharmacotherapeutics. Earlier, Dr. Arroyo held clinical development roles at Eisai Global Clinical Development and Schwarz Biosciences. Dr. Arroyo began his career as an academic neurologist at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical School, and the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona in Spain. He earned a Ph.D. from the Universidad de Barcelona and an M.D. from the Universidad Autonóma de Madrid.
“I am pleased to have joined Fulcrum at this key juncture,” commented Dr. Arroyo. “With the FSHD Phase 3 program that could deliver a first to market therapy for this rare and devastating disease, and a Phase 1b sickle cell disease program that has shown compelling proof-of-concept as a potential first oral fetal hemoglobin inducer, I am eager to leverage my experience to bring these two exciting medicines to patients.”
Jeff Jacobs, Ph.D. – Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Jacobs has more than 25 years of experience in drug discovery and target identification, and has led, co-led and mentored multiple discovery programs from concept stage through development candidate nomination, and from investigational new drug enabling studies through to pivotal clinical trials. Dr. Jacobs was most recently Chief Scientific Officer at Goldfinch Bio, where he led the research and discovery program to help build its portfolio of therapeutics for rare kidney diseases. Before Goldfinch, Dr. Jacobs held roles of increasing responsibilities at Ardelyx, Inc., and was promoted to Chief Scientific Officer. During his time at Ardelyx, he led the discovery effort for IBSRELA®, an oral small molecule for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, that became its first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved product. Earlier, Dr. Jacobs held senior roles in development chemistry at Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, along with similar roles leading chemistry teams at Versicor, Inc. (acquired by Pfizer), and Affymax (acquired by Glaxo Wellcome). Dr. Jacobs earned a Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in chemistry from Gonzaga University.
Dr. Jacobs added, “Fulcrum has an impressive discovery engine that has identified novel targets across multiple therapeutic areas, and notably, led to the development of two clinical programs. I look forward to building upon Fulcrum’s expertise in target discovery to develop a robust and diverse pipeline within the company’s three core areas of focus: rare muscle, hematologic and neurologic diseases, and to delivering the company’s next IND in 2023.”
About Fulcrum Therapeutics
Fulcrum Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients with genetically defined rare diseases in areas of high unmet medical need. Fulcrum’s two lead programs in clinical development are losmapimod, a small molecule for the treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), and FTX-6058, a small molecule designed to increase expression of fetal hemoglobin for the treatment of sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies, including beta-thalassemia. Fulcrum’s proprietary product engine, FulcrumSeek™, identifies drug targets that can modulate gene expression to treat the known root cause of gene mis-expression. For more information, visit www.fulcrumtx.com and follow us on Twitter @FulcrumTx and LinkedIn.
