Morphic Therapeutic Appoints Former Gilead Leader Norbert Bischofberger, Ph.D., to Board of Directors

/ Morphic Therapeutic, Press Release / By

WALTHAM, Mass. – June 14, 2019 – Morphic Therapeutic, a biotechnology company developing oral integrin therapies, today announced the appointment of former Gilead chief scientific officer and executive vice president of research and development, Norbert Bischofberger, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. During a career of nearly 30 years with Gilead, Dr. Bischofberger oversaw the development of more than 25 medicines that transformed the treatment of serious pathogens or diseases including HIV, HCV and lymphoma.

“Norbert is an accomplished researcher and leader of research organizations with an extraordinary track record in the development and approval of innovative medicines,” said Praveen Tipirneni, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Morphic Therapeutic. “His leadership and insights will be invaluable as we look to transition to a clinical-stage company and expand our pipeline of oral integrin therapies.”

Dr. Bischofberger currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of Kronos Bio, a developer of novel therapies targeting historically recalcitrant cancer targets. Prior to Kronos, he served as a scientific leader for 28 years at Gilead Sciences, concluding his tenure as chief scientific officer and executive vice president of research and development. Prior to Gilead, he served as a senior research scientist at Genentech.

Dr. Bischofberger also currently serves on the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG and Board of Directors of InCarda Therapeutics. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science and was awarded an honorary doctorate in natural sciences from the University of Innsbruck, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in chemistry. He also holds an honorary Doctor of Letters in Medicine degree from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Bischofberger earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from ETH Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) and completed postdoctoral research in organic chemistry and applied enzymology at George Whiteside’s laboratory at Harvard University.

“Morphic has built the expertise and technology platform necessary to target integrins with oral therapies, which is exciting as significant data supports the therapeutic potential of this class for a range of serious chronic diseases,” said Dr. Bischofberger. “I welcome the opportunity to join the Morphic journey as it deepens its R&D collaborations, prepares to enter clinical studies and advances on its mission to deliver a new generation of oral integrin therapies to patients.”

About Morphic Therapeutic

Morphic Therapeutic is a biotechnology company developing a new generation of oral integrin therapies. Drawing on integrin biology breakthroughs from the lab of noted entrepreneur and scientific founder Tim Springer, Morphic has developed an exclusive platform to build on these discoveries, complemented by a partnership with computational chemistry leader Schrödinger, Inc., that facilitates the rapid and iterative design of clinical candidates. For more information, visit www.morphictx.com.

Contacts

Morphic Contact
Robert E. Farrell, Jr., VP Finance and Ops and Treasurer
bob.farrell@morphictx.com
781-996-0955

Media Contact
Tom Donovan, Ten Bridge Communications
tom@tenbridgecommunications.com
857-559-3397

Scroll to Top

Contact Us

Integrin Partnership: Janssen

Morphic entered a research partnership with Janssen in 2019 to discover inhibitors of undisclosed integrin targets. In 2021, this partnership was expanded to include an antibody activator of an integrin target, extending the application of Morphic’s knowledge of integrin biology into modalities beyond small molecules. The antibody activator program is the focus of our collaboration with Janssen today.

Undisclosed Targets

Morphic is leveraging the MInT Platform to discover therapeutically relevant small molecule inhibitors of targets across the integrin family to treat autoimmune diseases, cancer and fibrotic diseases.

Undisclosed Target for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Morphic is deploying the MInT Platform to create small molecule inhibitors of an undisclosed integrin target for evaluation as a potential treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH is a devastating, usually fatal disease characterized by elevated mean pressures in the pulmonary artery and associated with lung and heart dysfunction. Morphic’s PAH program is in preclinical development.

αvβ8

Morphic is developing small molecule inhibitors of the integrin αvβ8 through a combination immuno-oncology approach for the treatment of solid tumors as well as potential additional indications. αvβ8 is known to activate selective isoforms of TGF-β and Morphic has demonstrated that αvβ8 inhibition can potentiate immune checkpoint blockade and potentially drive responses in checkpoint refractory tumors. Morphic’s αvβ8 inhibitors are in preclinical development.

Next Gen α4β7 Inhibitors

Morphic is developing a family of next generation α4β7 small molecule inhibitors with enhanced attributes using the MInT Platform. These candidates have distinct chemical properties from our first-generation inhibitors with differentiated selectivity, potency, and pharmacokinetic profiles. Morphic’s next generation α4β7 inhibitors are currently in preclinical development.