Synedgen Promotes Dr. Laura Saward to Chief Executive Officer and Appoints Dr. Kenton Gregory to Chief Medical Officer
– As Synedgen's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Saward will continue to lead the company to deliver on the successful partnership with Biomedical Advanced Research Agency (BARDA) and leverage her significant expertise in drug development and licensure –
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– Dr. Gregory has been appointed Chief Medical Officer bringing a wealth of experience to support the development of Synedgen's platform and products to meet the needs of patients and key customers such as the US government –
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CLAREMONT, Calif. — Synedgen, Inc., a biotechnology company with a validated platform targeting human glycobiology to treat a range of diseases including gastrointestinal targets, today announced that it has promoted Dr. Laura Saward, PhD, to be the company's President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Saward joined Synedgen in 2024 in the capacity of Chief Scientific Officer to launch their transformative program for GI Acute Radiation Syndrome, and she will continue to serve in this role as well.
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'We are delighted that Laura has agreed to lead Synedgen through the next stage of our company's growth, and through the execution of our contract with BARDA, valued at up to $119 million if all Options are exercised, for the development of MIIST305 as a medical countermeasure for gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome,' said Dr. Kenton Gregory, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Synedgen. 'Dr. Saward's extensive experience with successfully executing on government contracts and achieving FDA approval makes her the ideal candidate to shape Synedgen's future. The Board is confident in her ability to grow our company and progress our development pipeline, and on behalf of my fellow directors I offer her our full support.'
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Dr. Saward is an accomplished biotechnology executive with more than 25 years of experience in therapeutic drug development from preclinical to licensure. Prior to joining Synedgen, Dr. Saward served as Executive Vice President Health and Medical for Adva Diagnostics Inc., a start-up where she was a key member of the executive team focused on strategy, growth planning, and partnerships expansion to strengthen the business. Previously she held several executive roles at Emergent BioSolutions Inc. including leading the Therapeutics Business Unit. Before joining Emergent, Dr. Saward held various leadership roles at Cangene Corporation including Chief Scientific Officer. She has had the opportunity to direct the licensure of multiple products for commercial markets and government partners.
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'I am thrilled to lead Synedgen at this exciting time in the company's history and thank our Board and shareholders for the trust they have placed in me,' said Dr. Saward, President and Chief Executive Officer of Synedgen. 'Synedgen possesses unique technologies with both biodefense and commercial applications – underlined by recent partnerships with BARDA and U.S. Department of Defense – and I look forward to delivering on these contracts to the benefit of all stakeholders. The further expansion of our team with the appointment of Dr. Gregory as our Chief Medical Officer will deepen our expertise and add significant value in driving the success of our programs and partnerships.'
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Dr. Gregory, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health & Sciences University, has a 30 year record of successfully conceiving, developing and deploying medical technologies for saving lives that has launched seven companies to commercialize his research. Dr. Gregory's contributions range from advanced hemorrhage control technologies, laser-based diagnostics and therapeutics, CBRN countermeasures and regenerative medicine to AI-based imaging diagnostics for point of care diagnosis and triage at mass casualty incidents with over 50 US and foreign issued or pending patents. Dr. Gregory has experience as the CMO for other biotech companies with over a dozen FDA approved products and has experience as PI for another BARDA CBRN program for extended field care and mass casualty care.
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About Synedgen
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Synedgen, Inc. (Claremont, CA) is a biotechnology company developing Multivalent Innate Immune Signaling Target (MIIST) therapeutics that modulate and enhance the innate immune system. The company's lead development candidate is MIIST305, an oral, glycocalyx targeted induction and maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC). With US Government support, MIIST305 is also being developed in parallel as a medical countermeasure (MCM) for gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS). MIIST technology has been validated with clinical trials in partnered programs and extensively peer-reviewed through twenty-two (22) National Institutes of Health grants and Department of Defense contracts. Synedgen has an in-house GMP manufacturing facility. For more information, please visit www.synedgen.com. Synedgen's GI-ARS program is funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract No. 75A50124C00047. For more information, please visit www.synedgen.com.
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