Richard Wooster has been appointed chief scientific officer of Translate Bio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TBIO]]). Wooster was most recently president of research & development and chief scientific officer at Tarveda Therapeutics. His experience also includes senior roles at GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]). When Wooster joins Lexington, MA-based Translate Bio in May, the company says that scientific founder and current chief scientific officer Michael Heartlein will move to a new role as chief technical officer.
Translate Bio develops messenger RNA drugs to treat diseases caused by protein and gene dysfunction. Earlier this year, the FDA placed a clinical hold on MRT5201, the company’s mRNA drug candidate to treat ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, a liver disorder. Translate Bio says in its securities filings that it has identified the additional preclinical studies required and it plans to respond to submit a response to the FDA in the fourth quarter of this year. Preliminary data for MRT005, an experimental mRNA drug for cystic fibrosis, are expected in the second half of this year.
