CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Goldfinch Bio, a U.S.-based, clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing precision medicines for the treatment of kidney disease, today announced the appointment of Kyle Kuvalanka as Chief Financial and Operating Officer and the promotion of Lori Rudolph-Owen, Ph.D., from Senior Vice President, R&D Strategy and Operations to Chief Development Officer, effective immediately.

“We are delighted to welcome Kyle as Chief Financial and Operating Officer,” said Anthony Johnson, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Goldfinch Bio. “Throughout his career, Kyle has demonstrated an ability to successfully guide teams through significant organizational growth. I am confident that his extensive experience in both corporate and financial strategy will be of tremendous value as we build Goldfinch into an enduring company.”

Dr. Johnson continued, “Lori’s promotion to Chief Development Officer reflects her many contributions driving GFB-887 through clinical development and GFB-024 towards an investigational new drug (IND) filing, as well as her success building Goldfinch’s R&D and regulatory strategy teams. I look forward to Lori’s continued partnership establishing Goldfinch as the leader in applying a precision medicine approach for the treatment of kidney diseases.”

Kyle Kuvalanka, Chief Financial and Operating Officer

Mr. Kuvalanka brings over 20 years of experience as a senior leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with a successful track record in leading financings, forming and negotiating strategic collaborations, facilitating strategy development, and building and leading business and finance functions. Most recently, he consulted to private biopharmaceutical companies on their corporate and financial strategies and helped to build several investor syndicates. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer at Syros Pharmaceuticals and Chief Business Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer at Blueprint Medicines. In these roles, Mr. Kuvalanka helped to transition the companies from early-stage start-ups to publicly-traded, clinical-stage organizations. In particular, he built the business and finance functions, led the execution of several financings, including the companies’ initial public offerings, and led the formation of the companies’ early strategic collaborations. Before joining Blueprint Medicines, Mr. Kuvalanka worked in roles of increasing responsibility over twelve years at Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, including as Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Strategy. He holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. with Honors from Wesleyan University.

“I am excited to join the Goldfinch team,” said Mr. Kuvalanka. “Goldfinch was established on a commitment to revolutionize the treatment of kidney diseases by applying a genomics-based approach to drug discovery and development. Over the past twenty years, we have seen the value of precision medicine play out across oncology. By taking a similar approach and targeting the molecular causes of kidney disease, I believe Goldfinch has the potential to deliver tremendous benefit to patients, many of whom are underserved by existing therapeutic options.”

Lori Rudolph-Owen, Chief Development Officer

Dr. Rudolph-Owen joined Goldfinch Bio in 2018 as Senior Vice President of R&D Strategy and Operations. She brings over 20 years of leadership in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development, with particular expertise in strategic portfolio planning and development operations. Prior to Goldfinch, Dr. Rudolph-Owen served as Vice President of Portfolio Management and Assessment at TESARO, Inc., where she built and led the portfolio development teams responsible for the U.S. and EU submissions and approvals of VARUBI® and ZEJULA®, as well as the filing of multiple investigational new drug (IND) applications. Before TESARO, Dr. Rudolph-Owen held positions of increasing leadership responsibility at Pfizer, AMAG Pharmaceuticals, MGI Pharma (now Eisai), Vertex and Millennium. She holds her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine and her B.A. in Biology from Carroll University. Dr. Rudolph-Owen also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Biochemistry department at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine.

“I am honored to take on this new role at Goldfinch, particularly as we prepare to advance GFB-887 into Phase 2 studies this quarter,” said Dr. Rudolph-Owen. “Recent breakthroughs in genetics and biology have generated a new understanding of the key drivers of kidney disease, and I am excited to continue working with the talented and highly-productive Goldfinch team to translate these learnings into first-in-class therapies for patients in need.”

About Goldfinch Bio

Goldfinch Bio, Inc. is a clinical stage biotechnology company that leverages a genomics-based, precision medicine approach to discovering and developing kidney disease treatments. Its Kidney Genome Atlas (KGA™) is a proprietary biology platform that drives candidate discovery, patient selection and biomarker development. The Company’s lead candidate, GFB-887, is a transient receptor potential canonical 5 (TRPC5) ion channel inhibitor, expected to enter Phase 2 clinical studies in the second quarter of 2020 for the treatment of kidney diseases. Goldfinch Bio is also developing GFB-024, a peripherally-restricted cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) inverse agonist monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of rare and metabolic kidney diseases and expects to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application in 2021. Goldfinch Bio, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was launched in 2016 by Third Rock Ventures and has an established strategic collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc. For more information about Goldfinch Bio, visit www.goldfinchbio.com.