Veteran RNA expert, oligonucleotide chemist, and biotech industry expert Charles Allerson, Ph.D., joins Switch Therapeutics from DTx Pharma to lead the acceleration of the company’s novel CASi platform.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (BUSINESS WIRE): Switch Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new way to use RNA science to treat diseases utilizing its proprietary CASi (Conditionally Activated siRNA) platform, today announced the appointment of Charles Allerson, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He succeeds Si-ping Han, Ph.D., co-founder of Switch Therapeutics, who will transition to an advisory role and serve on Switch’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“Charles joins our leadership team with extensive expertise in oligonucleotide chemistry and RNA-based therapeutics, and we are delighted to welcome him to Switch. He will play a crucial role as we continue driving our novel CASi platform forward for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases,” said Dee Datta, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Switch Therapeutics. “We also want to thank Dr. Han for his significant impact at Switch by leading the invention of the CASi platform, where efficient self-delivery, uptake, and potency have been demonstrated in vivo. We look forward to his continued contributions as he joins our Scientific Advisory Board—a team of esteemed leaders in drug discovery, RNA science, and CNS research—and are excited for what’s ahead in 2024.”
Dr. Allerson joins Switch Therapeutics after dedicating more than 20 years of his career to building nucleic acid chemical tools and applying them to the development of RNA-based therapeutics. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Chemistry at DTx Pharma from 2019 until its acquisition by Novartis in 2023. Dr. Allerson led efforts to develop the FALCON platform for the extrahepatic delivery of RNA therapeutics and to translate this platform into a portfolio of preclinical assets. Dr. Allerson began his career as a chemist at Variagenics and subsequently joined the medicinal chemistry team at Isis (now Ionis) Pharmaceuticals. Following his role at Ionis, he led early-stage and development-stage chemistry at Regulus Therapeutics and subsequently joined Stoke Therapeutics as Vice President of Chemistry, where he helped prepare the company’s TANGO platform for the clinic. Dr. Allerson earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Lafayette College, his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University, and spent several years as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health prior to his move into industry.
“I am thrilled to join Switch at this pivotal time and look forward to partnering with my new colleagues to advance CASi into the clinic and beyond,” said Dr. Allerson, Ph.D. “The three-stranded structures of CASi provide an opportunity to deploy novel chemistry and design strategies that will create unique medicines and open new therapeutic target spaces. I am eager to continue the innovation of the CASi platform, enabling Switch to translate the power of RNA science into a new generation of RNA medicines.”
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