Cambridge, MA-based Synlogic, the synthetic biology startup developing “smart bug” drugs called synthetic biotics, has named Bharatt Chowrira its president. Chowrira was formerly the chief operating officer of Auspex Pharmaceuticals, which Teva Pharmaceutical Industries bought for over $3 billion in March. He’ll work alongside CEO and former Pfizer executive Jose-Carlos Gutierrez Ramos, who joined Synlogic in May.
Separately, Synlogic also disclosed that it’s signed an R&D deal with an unspecified pharma company to develop drugs for certain forms of inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The company has also identified two lead programs—prospective therapies for urea cycle disorder and phenylketonuria—that it’s advancing towards clinical trials.
Author: Ben Fidler
Ben is former Xconomy Deputy Editor, Biotechnology. He is a seasoned business journalist that comes to Xconomy after a nine-year stint at The Deal, where he covered corporate transactions in industries ranging from biotech to auto parts and gaming. Most recently, Ben was The Deal’s senior healthcare writer, focusing on acquisitions, venture financings, IPOs, partnerships and industry trends in the pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics and med tech spaces. Ben wrote features on creative biotech financing models, analyses of middle market and large cap buyouts, spin-offs and restructurings, and enterprise pieces on legal issues such as pay-for-delay agreements and the Affordable Care Act. Before switching to the healthcare beat, Ben was The Deal's senior bankruptcy reporter, covering the restructurings of the Texas Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, GM, Delphi, Trump Entertainment Resorts and Blockbuster, among others. Ben has a bachelor’s degree in English from Binghamton University.
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