CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Omega Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMGA) (“Omega”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a new class of programmable epigenomic mRNA medicines, today announced the election of Richard N. Kender to its Board of Directors following its annual meeting of stockholders. Mr. Kender’s industry knowledge and proven expertise in corporate finance and business development spanning both large pharmaceutical and emerging biotech companies will be instrumental in supporting the Company’s business objectives.

“Richard has had a long and impressive career in the industry and brings deep expertise across multiple facets of the pharmaceutical business, as well as experience serving as a director for several public biotech companies,” said Chris Schade, Chairman of the Omega Therapeutics Board of Directors and Growth Partner at Flagship Pioneering. “Omega will greatly benefit from his strategic insights as the Company pursues its ambitious vision of pioneering a new class of programmable epigenomic mRNA medicines.”

Mahesh Karande, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omega Therapeutics added, “I am delighted to welcome Richard to the team. Richard is an industry veteran whose wealth of experience and knowledge in corporate finance, business development and strategic licensing will be invaluable as we continue to capitalize on the vast potential of the OMEGA platform and advance our pipeline of novel epigenomic controllers.”

Mr. Kender added, “The potential of epigenomic controllers to modulate nearly any human gene unlocks tremendous opportunities for transformative change across a broad range of diseases. I look forward to working with this accomplished board and management team to help realize the full potential of the OMEGA platform and precision epigenomic control.”

Richard N. Kender is a recognized business leader with an extensive career in the pharmaceutical industry, including 35 years spent at Merck & Co., Inc. During his tenure at Merck, he held various roles across corporate development, including M&A, licensing, financial evaluation and analysis, and global competitive intelligence. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Licensing from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. Over his career, he has been involved in numerous strategic transactions and played an instrumental role in Merck’s acquisition of Schering Plough. Mr. Kender currently serves on the board of directors of Seres Therapeutics, POXEL SA, Longeveron Inc. and Bicycle Therapeutics. He received a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Villanova University and a Master of Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

About Omega Therapeutics

Omega Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of a new class of programmable epigenomic mRNA medicines to treat or cure a broad range of diseases. By pre-transcriptionally modulating gene expression, Omega’s approach enables precision epigenomic control of nearly all human genes, including historically undruggable and difficult-to-treat targets, without altering native nucleic acid sequences. Founded in 2017 by Flagship Pioneering following breakthrough research by world-renowned experts in the field of epigenetics, Omega is led by a seasoned and accomplished leadership team with a track record of innovation and operational excellence. The Company is committed to revolutionizing genomic medicine and has a pipeline of therapeutic candidates derived from its OMEGA platform spanning oncology, regenerative medicine, and multigenic diseases including inflammatory and cardiometabolic conditions.

For more information, visit omegatherapeutics.com, or follow us on X and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements surrounding the potential of our development candidates, and Mr. Kender’s anticipated instrumental and invaluable impact on the Company in furthering its business objectives. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the novel technology on which our product candidates are based makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of preclinical and clinical development and subsequently obtaining regulatory approval, if at all; the substantial development and regulatory risks associated with epigenomic controllers due to the novel and unprecedented nature of this new category of medicines; our limited operating history; the incurrence of significant losses and the fact that we expect to continue to incur significant additional losses for the foreseeable future; our need for substantial additional financing; volatility in capital markets and general economic conditions; our investments in research and development efforts that further enhance the OMEGA platform, and their impact on our results; uncertainty regarding preclinical development, especially for a new class of medicines such as epigenomic controllers; potential delays in and unforeseen costs arising from our clinical trials; the fact that our product candidates may be associated with serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or have other properties that could halt their regulatory development, prevent their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential, or result in significant negative consequences; difficulties manufacturing the novel technology on which our epigenomic controller candidates are based; our ability to adapt to rapid and significant technological change; our reliance on third parties for the manufacture of materials; our ability to successfully acquire and establish our own manufacturing facilities and infrastructure; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers for lipid excipients used in our product candidates; our ability to advance our product candidates to clinical development; and our ability to obtain, maintain, enforce and adequately protect our intellectual property rights. These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, and our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.