Aristea Therapeutics (Aristea), a clinical-stage immunology focused drug development company advancing novel therapies to treat rare serious inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Ciara Kennedy as Aristea Therapeutics’ Chair of the Board of Directors and Fabio Magrini as Executive Medical Director.
James M. Mackay, Ph.D., President and CEO of Aristea, commented, “Ciara and Fabio are invaluable members of our Board and management teams, respectively. Both scientists, collectively bring decades of experience in our industry to the company. Their contributions moving forward will be crucial, as we move our lead drug, RIST4721, through the clinic for palmoplantar pustulosis and additional inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.”
“I’m delighted to expand my role with Aristea at such a dynamic time for the company,” said Dr. Kennedy. “Following last year’s successful Series B financing and our auspicious collaboration agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals, Aristea is well-positioned to make significant strides in developing RIST4721 for a wide range of neutrophil-mediated inflammatory indications.”
“It is truly an honor to join Aristea and be part of such an exceptional team,” said Dr. Magrini. “I’m humbled and excited by the opportunity to contribute to the success of such a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to easing the suffering of patients in a growing range of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with no or few treatment options.”
Dr. Kennedy, currently a member of Aristea’s Board of Directors, is an experienced executive with a proven track record of delivering significant results and advancing therapeutic and diagnostic programs across multiple therapeutic areas and stages of development in the biotech industry. She is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sorriso Pharmaceuticals. Previously, Dr. Kennedy was President and Chief Executive Officer of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals until the company’s acquisition by Pfizer, where she successfully raised over $150M to develop novel treatments for immunocompromised patients. Dr. Kennedy served as Chief Operating Officer at Lumena Pharmaceuticals until the company’s acquisition by Shire Pharmaceuticals and as Vice President, Head of Cholestatic Liver Disease at Shire post-acquisition. She has also served in several positions at Cypress Bioscience Inc., where she played a key role in the company’s FDA approval and launch of Savella® for Fibromyalgia; as well as at the Program and Alliance department of Biogen Idec. A Ph.D. scientist by training, Dr. Kennedy received her doctorate at the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Dr. Magrini brings 20 years of industry experience designing and implementing clinical programs in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases across several therapeutic areas, including neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, and dermatology, to his role. He previously served as Principal Medical Director, Neuroimmunology and Medical Director, Neuroscience at Genentech Inc., and as Senior Medical Director at MedImmune, LLC. He gained earlier experience as a researcher at Roche and Pfizer Inc. A Rome native, Dr. Magrini qualified in Medicine and Surgery at University of L’Aquila, Italy, and later moved to England where, before joining the pharmaceutical industry, he worked at Cambridge University Department of Pathology, Human Molecular Genetics, and at Addenbrooke’s Hospital as a Clinical Fellow in Dermatology.
