Arcturus Therapeutics Announces the Appointment of Drew Weissman M.D., Ph.D. to the Scientific Advisory Board
San Diego, Calif., Nov 3, 2015 – Arcturus Therapeutics Inc., a leading RNA medicines company, today announced the appointment of Drew Weissman, M.D, Ph.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board.
Dr. Weissman, is a professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania with over 100 publications and patents. He received his graduate degrees from Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Weissman co-discovered the ability of modified nucleosides in RNA to suppress activation of innate immune sensors and increase the translation of messenger RNA (mRNA).
Dr. Weissman’s laboratory focuses on the study of RNA and innate immune system biology and the application of these findings to vaccine research, protein therapeutics, and gene therapy. His laboratory is currently developing new vaccine platforms, therapeutic proteins, and gene editing systems using nucleoside modified RNAs. He is also an Attending Physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, a member of The American Association of Immunologists, and a member of the American Federation for Clinical Research.
“We are delighted to add Dr. Weissman to our Scientific Advisory Board, as he brings new insights into the design of mRNA therapeutics”, said Pad Chivukula, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics. “Dr. Weissman is a thought leader in the field of messenger RNA and his seminal discovery of the identification of modified nucleosides to prevent immunogenicity has led to a renaissance in the field of mRNA therapeutics.
Dr. Weissman stated, “I look forward with anticipation to work with Arcturus’ UNA oligomer™ and LUNAR™ delivery technologies, as we identify effective therapeutics,” and added, “Arcturus is leading the way in bringing safe and efficacious messenger RNA medicines to patients.”
About Arcturus
Founded in 2013 and based in San Diego, Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. is an RNA medicines company with enabling technologies – UNA Oligomer™ chemistry and LUNAR™ nanoparticle delivery. Arcturus’ versatile RNA therapeutics platform can be applied toward all types of RNA medicines including small interfering RNA, messenger RNA, antisense RNA, microRNA and gene editing therapeutics. The company owns unlocked nucleomonomer agent (UNA) technology including UNA Oligomers™, which are covered by its patent portfolio (34 patents and patent applications, issued in the U.S. and other countries). Arcturus’ proprietary UNA technology can be used to target any gene in the human genome, as well as viral genes, and other species for therapeutic purposes. For more information, visit www.ArcturusRx.com.
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