LAUSANNE, Switzerland and SAN DIEGO – Sept. 15, 2022 -- HAYA Therapeutics, SA, a company developing RNA-guided programmable precision medicines focused on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), today announced that Brian C. Thomas, Ph.D., has joined HAYA as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Dr. Thomas, CEO and Founder of Metagenomi, brings extensive experience in biotech research and development.

“As an innovator in the field of gene editing, Brian has built a world-renowned company in Metagenomi. His experience in discovery and development of genetic medicines and enhancing the utility of gene modification tools will significantly aid us in our mission of creating safer, more efficacious and accessible treatments,” said Samir Ounzain, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of HAYA Therapeutics. “We welcome Brian to the HAYA family and look forward to working with him as we uncover the biology of the dark genome.”  

Dr. Thomas is Founder and CEO of gene editing company Metagenomi. Prior to founding Metagenomi, he spent more than 20 years at the University of California, Berkeley, advancing the science of metagenomics to understand novel biochemistry. Dr. Thomas’s scientific work has been cited over 17,000 times. He is also listed as an inventor on numerous patents in the field of gene editing. He has a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The University of Kansas and completed post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley.  

“It is clear that RNA is a powerful molecule that can be leveraged to develop innovative, precision medicines. As a leader in understanding the mechanisms behind the dark genome and lncRNAs, HAYA stands at the forefront of bringing better targeted therapies to a wide range of hard-to-treat conditions, starting with heart failure,” said Dr. Thomas. “I’m excited to support Samir and the entire HAYA team as they bring a new generation of RNA-guided programmable therapeutics to the clinic.”

HAYA’s Board Members:

• Brian C. Thomas, Ph.D. (Chairperson)
• Samir Ounzain, Ph.D. (CEO & Co-Founder)
• Daniel Blessing, Ph.D. (CTO & Co-Founder)
• Benjamin Kreitman (Director)
• Jens Eckstein, Ph.D. (Director)

About HAYA Therapeutics

HAYA Therapeutics is a precision medicines company developing RNA-guided programmable therapeutics targeting the regulatory genome for serious health conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer. The company is using its innovative cell-state modifying platform to gain novel insights into the biology of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), the ‘dark genomes’ information processing features and ‘source code’. HAYA’s lead therapeutic candidate is HTX-001, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting Wisper, which is a tissue and cell-specific cardiac lncRNA known to play a role in heart failure. The company is also developing a pipeline of lncRNA-targeting candidates for the cell-specific treatment of diseases in other tissues, including the lungs and the microenvironment of solid tumor cancers. Headquartered at the life sciences park Biopôle in Lausanne, Switzerland with laboratory facilities at JLABS @ San Diego, HAYA is led by a world-class team of experts in programmable and precision RNA-targeted therapeutics and is supported by a strong investor consortium. HAYA’s mission is to identify and develop breakthrough disease-modifying therapeutics with the potential for greater efficacy, safety, and accessibility than existing treatments. For more information on the company, please visit our website at www.hayatx.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Tim Ingersoll
tim@bioscribe.com