Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNA), a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs™), today announced the appointment of Simona Skerjanec, M.Pharm, MBA to its board of directors. Ms. Skerjanec brings nearly three decades of global experience in the pharmaceutical industry with a strong track record in developing and launching therapies, as well as shaping corporate strategy to deliver transformative treatments to people living with serious diseases.
“We are pleased to have Simona Skerjanec join our board of directors. Her global leadership experience and expertise in product commercialization will be invaluable as Avidity builds an integrated global organization to profoundly improve people’s lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics,” said Sarah Boyce, president and chief executive officer at Avidity. “Simona’s experience in rare diseases, cardiology and neurology will be important as we advance our clinical programs for neuromuscular diseases into pivotal studies and continue to expand the depth and breadth of our AOC platform into additional therapeutic areas, including precision cardiology.”
Simona Skerjanec has led multiple research and development efforts that have resulted in regulatory approvals and launches of commercial therapies in therapeutic areas including neurology and cardiology in the U.S. and other countries. Most recently, Ms. Skerjanec was the Senior Vice President and Global Neuroscience Head at Roche in Switzerland and led the business and global strategy for Roche’s portfolio of neurological and rare diseases, including Ocrevus® for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and a novel monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. During her nine-year tenure at Roche, she also served as a General Manager of Roche in Portugal. Prior to joining Roche, Simona was Senior Vice President and Cardiovascular franchise head at The Medicines Company where she held various roles of increasing responsibilities in development and commercialization. She also held positions at Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
“I am pleased to join the board of directors at Avidity as the company utilizes its transformative science to develop and bring new treatments to help improve the lives of patients and their families around the globe,” said Ms. Skerjanec. “I look forward to partnering with the executive leadership team and other members of the board as the company continues to revolutionize the delivery of RNA therapeutics.”