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Beam Therapeutics Appoints Gopi Shanker, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beam Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAM), a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines
About this update from Beam Therapeutics Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beam Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAM), a biotechnology company developing precision genetic medicines through base editing, today announced that Gopi Shanker, Ph.D., has been appointed as chief scientific officer (CSO). Dr. Shanker is a scientific leader with more than 20 years of drug development experience as well as experience with novel genetic medicine modalities. Dr. Shanker will report to Giuseppe Ciaramella, Ph.D., president of Beam, who has broad oversight of Beam’s research, manufacturing, regulatory, quality and pharmaceutical sciences organizations. “We are thrilled to welcome Gopi to the Beam team during this exciting time as we advance our diverse clinical and earlier-stage pipeline of base editing programs,” said Dr. Ciaramella. “Base editing has the potential to change the treatment course for a number of patients in need, and as we progress our programs, we continue to learn and further understand the breadth of possibilities. Gopi’s extensive background of leading drug discovery and development efforts, including in the area of gene therapy, is impressive, and we look forward to applying that expertise to our current and future programs.” “The gene editing field has been of great interest to me for many years, and I’m pleased to join the Beam team, true leaders and pioneers in the space,” said Dr. Shanker. “Base editing is a highly flexible tool designed for efficient and precise modification of the genome without creating double-stranded DNA breaks, making it a compelling technology that I’m eager to further explore with this expert team. A key focus for me and my team will be progressing our base editing platform and evaluating potential new programs across each of our strategic pillars of hematology, immunology/oncology and genetic diseases.” Dr. Shanker has an extensive background across all stages of drug development as well as multiple drug modalities, including small molecules, biologics and gene therapies for both common and rare disorders. He joins Beam from Tevard Biosciences, where he served as CSO. Prior to Tevard, he spent eight years at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, where he most recently served as head of neuroscience. In this role, he was responsible for strategic oversight of the entire neuroscience portfolio, which include...