Healthcare Industry News: Millennium Pharmaceuticals
News Release - January 7, 2010
Constellation Pharmaceuticals Appoints Kerry K. Reinertsen, Ph.D. as Company's Chief Business Officer
Company Leading the Emerging Field of EpigeneticsCAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has appointed Kerry K. Reinertsen, Ph.D. as the company’s Chief Business Officer. Dr. Reinertsen will manage Constellation’s corporate and business development activities, including the formation, implementation and management of research and development alliances to maximize value creation from its significant set of R&D assets.
Dr. Reinertsen is a veteran in the Cambridge and international biotechnology industry and has been responsible for some of the industry’s most transformational alliances. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Corporate and Business Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals where she was responsible for strategic planning, assessment and execution of collaborations and alliance management. Previously Dr. Reinertsen served for eight years at Millennium Pharmaceuticals where she led the strategic evaluation, structuring and execution of numerous transactions ranging from discovery collaborations to product marketing partnerships, both domestically and internationally. Dr. Reinertsen earned a dual A.B. in Economics and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology from Harvard University.
"We are very pleased to bring Kerry into the leadership of Constellation as we continue making important progress with our R&D programs and expanding our corporate reach," said Mark A. Goldsmith, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Constellation Pharmaceuticals. "Kerry has an outstanding record of achievement in helping to grow biotechnology companies through substantial and high-quality business relationships. Her scientific and business backgrounds make for an excellent fit with Constellation’s people and culture, and will help us fulfill our mission to create high impact therapeutic products on behalf of patients.”
“As the leader in the exciting new field of epigenetics, Constellation has made tremendous progress since opening its labs a year and a half ago,” said Dr. Reinertsen. “Constellation’s strategy of building the industry-leading product engine that is versatile enough to work on multiple enzyme classes simultaneously provides many compelling product and partnership opportunities. I look forward to working with the extraordinary team to build a unique company.”
About Constellation Pharmaceuticals
Constellation Pharmaceuticals is the first biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of epigenetics, a new field of science that focuses on selective regulators of gene function and expression. Constellation’s initial focus is in oncology, and the Company’s platform will also be applicable to other therapeutic areas including autoimmune, inflammatory and neurological diseases. The Company’s academic founders represent the core thought leaders in epigenetics responsible for key advances, insights and discoveries in the field. Constellation Pharmaceuticals is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.constellationpharma.com.
Constellation’s Board of Directors include: Anthony Evnin, Partner, Venrock; David Goeddel, Ph.D., Partner, The Column Group; Mark Levin, Partner, Third Rock Ventures; Tom Maniatis, Ph.D., Professor, Harvard University; Robert Tepper, M.D., Partner, Third Rock Ventures; and Mark A. Goldsmith, M.D., Ph.D., CEO, Constellation Pharmaceuticals. The Company’s Chief Scientific Officer is Edward E. Harlow, Jr., Ph.D.
Constellation Pharmaceuticals was founded by three of the foremost authorities and leaders within the field of epigenetics: Danny Reinberg, Ph.D, Professor of Biochemistry at the New York University School of Medicine and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Institute; Yang Shi, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology at the Harvard Medical School and David Allis, Ph.D., Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Chromatin Biology at The Rockefeller University.
About Epigenetics
Epigenetics is an exciting new field of biology that involves chemical modifications of both DNA and of its packaging proteins (“chromatin”), which are collectively called the ‘epigenome.’ The genome, or DNA, is the “blueprint” for the human body, consisting of thousands of genes, which are the fundamental units of information necessary for normal cell growth and development. In contrast, the epigenome plays a critical role in regulating the expression of genes, that is, switching genes on or off – or in the case of disease, for switching genes on or off incorrectly. This new field of epigenetic science provides the opportunity to create a broad new class of human therapeutics targeting selective regulators of epigenetic function.
Source: Constellation Pharmaceuticals
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