Leading Protein Scientist Dr. Asya Grinberg Joins Dragonfly Therapeutics as Head of Biologics

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. ("Dragonfly"), today announced the addition of Dr. Asya Grinberg to its senior team. Dr. Grinberg joins Dragonfly from Acceleron Pharma (Nasdaq: XLRN), where she led a multidisciplinary team in cell biology and protein chemistry. As Dragonfly's Head of Biologics, Dr. Grinberg leads its protein engineering, purification, characterization and structural biology team.

Dr. Grinberg brings to Dragonfly an extensive track record of scientific accomplishments and creativity in protein-based drug development. "Asya's experience developing multiple drug candidates from concept deep into the clinic represents a great addition to our company," stated Dragonfly co-founder and head of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, Dr. Tyler Jacks.  

Prior to joining Dragonfly, Dr. Grinberg spent 12 years at Acceleron Pharma discovering and developing novel protein therapeutics for treatment of hematopoietic diseases and cancer. She most recently served as Senior Director of Cell Biology and Protein Chemistry and has been a strong scientific and strategic driver of internal innovation. Dr. Grinberg's efforts were instrumental to the development of five clinical candidates, including Luspatercept (currently in Phase III testing) for treatment of beta-thalassemia and MDS.  Dr. Grinberg is the key inventor of the IntelliTrap™ drug discovery platform targeting the TGF-beta superfamily. Dr. Grinberg received her M.Sc. in Bioorganic Chemistry from Moscow State University and did her Ph.D. studies at Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine in Germany. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan supported by the at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Grinberg is a co-author of more than 40 scientific publications, and co-inventor on a number of patents.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Grinberg to Dragonfly," said Dragonfly co-founder and CEO Bill Haney. "Her depth of understanding of protein therapeutics, coupled with her talent for innovation, will accelerate our development of novel cancer therapies, which use Natural Killer cells to both enhance the effectiveness of T cell performance and attack cancer directly."  

About Dragonfly

Dragonfly Therapeutics is a discovery-stage company developing drugs to stimulate immune responses against cancer.

Our scientific founders are major figures in cancer biology and immunology and launched Dragonfly to harness the power of the innate immune system to provide breakthrough cancer treatments for patients.

For more information visit: www.dragonflytx.com, https://www.facebook.com/dragonflytherapeutics/,  https://twitter.com/dragonflytx

Media Contact:
Maura McCarthy
617-588-0086  x702
maura@dragonflytx.com 

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SOURCE Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc.