Anagenex Appoints Pharmaceutical R&D Veteran Ryan Kruger as Chief Scientific Officer
BOSTON, November 16, 2022–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Anagenex, a pioneering drug discovery company combining large-scale data generation with machine learning to discover the next generation of small molecule drugs, today announced the appointment of Ryan Kruger, PhD, as Scientific Director. He brings 18 years of combined pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience, including 15 years with GSK, to his new role where he will lead Anagenex’s science and drug discovery strategy from target selection to compound development. He will also lead technology development to strengthen Anagenex’s combined biochemistry and AI parallel platform.
At GSK, Kruger was Vice President, Head of Cancer Epigenetics Research Unit, Oncology R&D, where he was involved in the discovery and development of a portfolio of state-of-the-art epigenetic assets. ‘industry. While at GSK, his research unit showcased six novel small molecule therapies from discovery through clinical development to IND filing. Kruger has also co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles.
After leaving GSK, Kruger served as Vice President, Head of Biology at Foghorn Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company. At Foghorn, he led a team of biologists, bioinformaticians, and pharmacological scientists through all aspects of discovery biology and early translational medicine, from identification and validation of novel targets to clinical development. early. Kruger received his doctorate in pharmacological sciences from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his postgraduate training at Harvard Medical School.
“The most important thing for a technology-driven drug discovery company is knowing where to point the platform for maximum impact,” said Nicolas Tilmans, CEO of Anagenex. “Ryan has a truly exceptional understanding of the biochemistry behind the disease, and his leadership will ensure that our efforts connect to patients in need. I am thrilled to have him join us on this journey.”
“I’m excited to join Anagenex, which has enormous potential to reshape the way small molecule drugs are discovered,” Kruger said. “The synergy between machine learning and DNA-encoded libraries differentiates the company, allowing us to reliably identify bioactive compounds and validate our disease hypotheses with unprecedented speed. Anagenex has the tools to tackle some of the toughest targets in drug discovery. I’m also incredibly encouraged by the high quality of the Anagenex team.”
Since beginning operations in fall 2020, Anagenex has built a custom parallel biochemistry platform capable of generating billions of experimentally measured data points. Instead of relying on simulations, Anagenex’s proprietary machine learning (ML) algorithms can leverage real data and deepen its understanding of each target by tapping into an internal database of hundreds of billions from previous measurements.
Anagenex then uses the trained ML models to design up to 1 million entirely new and “advanced” compounds, which Anagenex then synthesizes and tests before showing the results to the initial model, further refining its accuracy. This creates a virtuous cycle of real data perfecting ML models, in turn leading to better data generation, with each cycle focusing on potent and highly selective drugs.
By applying its platform, Anagenex has already developed a strong pipeline, including several early-stage drugs for oncology and other indications.
For more information about Anagenex, visit www.anagenex.com.
About Anagenex
Anagenex is a preclinical biotechnology innovator advancing drug discovery through its small molecule directed evolution platform. The company’s unique technology, based on machine learning, enables Anagenex to discover first-in-class, best-in-class small molecule drugs targeting historically intractable targets. With a team of highly experienced scientists and engineers, the company has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Woburn, Mass. Learn more about Anagenex at www.anagenex.com or connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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