Mogrify Limited (Mogrify®), a regenerative medicine company developing a novel class of in vivo reprogramming therapies for diseases with high unmet clinical need, announces the appointment of Dr Jonathan Appleby as Chief Scientific Officer. With decades of industry experience in translating both conventional and advanced therapeutic medicines, Jon will lead advancement of the Company’s therapeutic programs in areas including otology, ophthalmology and diabetes toward and into clinical development.
Dr Appleby is an accomplished medicines developer, having operated in all phases of therapeutic development from discovery to commercial launch. He joins Mogrify from the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, where he was Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer and led the R&D group focused on ATMP manufacturing processes and analytical development for five years. Prior to this, Dr Appleby was CSO for Cell and Gene Therapy in GSK’s Rare Diseases Unit, where he led the team that developed StrimvelisTM, the multi-award-winning and first autologous pediatric CD34+ stem cell gene therapy to be approved for commercial use. He also led for 2 years the ARSA gene therapy, which was later out-licensed to Orchard Therapeutics and recently approved as LenmeldyTM.
Dr Appleby previously held the position of Director and Portfolio Manager at the GSK Centre of Excellence for External Drug Development, where he discovered, in-licensed, and developed new technologies and assets across a broad range of therapeutic areas. He graduated from the University of Leeds with an honors degree in Genetics and a PhD from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Dr. Darrin M. Disley, OBE, CEO, Mogrify, said “We are thrilled to welcome Jon to the Mogrify Executive Team. Following a comprehensive global search that considered experienced medicine makers from across the cell and gene therapy paradigm, Jon’s particular expertise in advancing innovative and first-in-class medicines for patients with limited treatment options makes him the ideal candidate for leading Mogrify’s pipeline of novel in vivo reprogramming therapies through pre-clinical translation and into first in-human studies.”
Dr. Jon Appleby, Chief Scientific Officer, Mogrify, added: “Mogrify’s proprietary platform for identifying and optimizing transcription factor combinations capable of directly reprogramming cell function in vivo has the potential to address many diseases. Our multi-talented team has done incredible work in leveraging the technology to bring forward a portfolio of potentially transformative medicines. I am delighted to join them as we break new ground with an approach that combines the potential of both cell therapy and gene therapy in one novel regenerative modality.”
For further information about Mogrify’s team, please visit: www.mogrify.co.uk/team/leadership-team/