CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartPharm Therapeutics, a preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing next-generation, non-viral gene therapies for the treatment of rare diseases, today announced the appointment of John T. Potts, MD, DSc, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Potts' distinguished, five-decade career in healthcare and the life sciences spans medical disciplines and encompasses ground-breaking preclinical and clinical research.

"We are honored to welcome John to the SmartPharm Board. His acumen and experience will be invaluable to the Company during its journey into the clinic," said Steve Gorlin, Chairman of the Board for SmartPharm.

"I am excited to be joining SmartPharm Therapeutics and believe the Company's approach to next-generation, non-viral, gene-encoded protein therapies holds significant potential to impact medicine in a similar manner to biologics, while eliminating their onerous manufacturing and delivery systems," commented Dr. Potts.

Dr. Potts is the Jackson Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. After completing his MD at the University of Pennsylvania and internship and residency at MGH, he worked at the National Institutes of Health for almost a decade, studying protein chemistry with Nobel laureate Christian Anfinsen. He returned to MGH as Chief of Endocrinology in 1968 where he subsequently served as Director of Research, Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief. An internationally-recognized authority on calcium metabolism and the hormonal mechanisms that govern it, he has been a pioneer in identifying the chemistry and biology of clinical disorders of bone and mineral ion metabolism.

Dr. Potts has played an active role in the life sciences industry. He is a founder of Radius Health, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative endocrine therapeutics in the areas of osteoporosis and oncology, where he currently serves as a Scientific Advisory Board Member. He has also served on advisory boards with MPM Capital and HealthCare Ventures. He has previously held board of directors positions with Cell Genesys, Zeltiq Aesthetics, Genentech and NantKwest.

An author on over 500 publications, his honors and awards include the Association of Professors of Medicine's Robert H. Williams, MD, Distinguished Chair of Medicine Award; the Biomedical Science Career Program Hope Award; the Endocrine Society's Fred Konrad Koch Award; and the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research's William F. Neumann Award. He holds active and honorary memberships in a number of scientific and professional organizations including the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences.

About SmartPharm Therapeutics

SmartPharm Therapeutics Inc. is a privately-held, development-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing next-generation, non-viral gene therapies for the treatment of serious or rare diseases with the vision of creating "biologics from within." The Company is currently developing a novel pipeline of non-viral, gene-encoded proteins for the treatment of conditions that require enzyme replacement therapy and tissue restoration. SmartPharm commenced operations in 2018 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, USA. For more information, please visit http://www.smartpharmtx.com.

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SOURCE SmartPharm Therapeutics

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SmartPharm Therapeutics Appoints John T. Potts, MD, DSc, to Board of Directors - BioSpace

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