Sail Biomedicines, Inc. (“Sail”), a Flagship Pioneering company and leader in RNA-based programmable medicines, today announced that Kerry Benenato, Ph.D., has been appointed to the position of the role of Chief Platform Officer, replacing Stuart Milstein, Ph.D., who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
Dr. Benenato brings to Sail a storied career in the development of mRNA products and product candidates. She most recently served as Chief Scientific Officer of 76Bio, a startup focused on the development of a novel targeted protein degradation modality using mRNA/lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technologies, where she led all R&D activities, including progressing two oncology programs from hit identification to development candidate within one year.
Prior to this, she spent eight years in positions of increasing responsibility at Moderna, most recently serving as Vice President, Platform Chemistry and Formulation Discovery, where she led the Platform team, with oversight for the discovery and development of mRNA delivery tools for multiple modalities (infectious disease, rare disease, immuno-oncology, auto-immune diseases) and the development of tools for LNP biophysical characterization. In 2022, Dr. Benenato was awarded the American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry award for her work contributing to Moderna’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine (Spikevax™). She began her industry career in scientific research at AstraZeneca, after completing a research fellowship at Harvard University as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Boston College and a B.S. in Chemistry from Providence College.
“We are delighted to welcome Kerry to Sail and its Executive Leadership Team. Her wealth of experience and extraordinary track record of success in the translatable RNA and LNP spaces, as well as her outstanding leadership skills, make her the right leader to oversee the continued development of our groundbreaking platform in this pivotal year for Sail, as we advance with speed toward the clinic,” said Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D., MBA, Chief Executive, Sail Biomedicines and CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Stu Milstein for his countless contributions to Sail, as well as to its legacy company, Senda Biosciences, and to wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining the world-class team at Sail Biomedicines,” said Dr. Benenato. “The potential of Sail’s platform – combining industry-leading Endless RNA™ (eRNA™) technology with uniquely programmable deployment nanoparticles, accelerated by AI – is unparalleled within the biopharma industry. It’s shaping up to be an incredibly exciting year for this unique company, and I’m looking forward to contributing to its continued growth and success, as we work to bring RNA-based programmable medicines to the many people who so very much need them.”
About Sail Biomedicines
Sail Biomedicines, a Flagship Pioneering company, is generating tomorrow’s medicines today through the language of life. Sail’s platform combines first-in-category translatable circular RNA technology (Endless RNA™ or eRNA), and proprietary programmable nanoparticles, utilizing natural components, to comprehensively program medicines for the first time. By leveraging its rapid prototyping and testing bioplatform, Sail is building a wealth of data, enabling unparalleled use of state-of-the-art AI techniques for the integrative design of RNA medicines with unprecedented performance and broad applicability. For more, visit www.sail.bio and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @SailBiomeds and on LinkedIn.
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