Orogen Therapeutics, Inc., a private drug discovery company utilizing its proprietary, AI-enabled DNA encoded library (DEL) technology to identify novel chemical matter against medically and commercially attractive drug targets, today announced the expansion of its Board of Directors with Independent Non-Executive biopharma leaders Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., prior Chief Scientific Officer and President of Research and Development at Pfizer, and Dieter Weinand, M.S., former CEO and chairman of the board of Bayer Pharmaceuticals AG. Dr. Dolsten will also serve as Chairman of the Orogen Board. Dr. Dolsten and Mr. Weinand join co-founding investors Marijn Dekkers, Chairman of Novalis LifeSciences, former CEO of Bayer AG, CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Chairman of Unilever, and Phil Austin, Managing Partner of Anterra Capital, along with Dr. Mark Pykett, CEO of the company, on the Orogen Board.
“We are thrilled to have Mikael Dolsten and Dieter Weinand join the Orogen Board,” stated Marijn Dekkers, co-founding investor and Director of the Company. “With their vast experience, knowledge, and relationships, these renowned leaders bring immense value to our organization. We believe their contribution will enhance Orogen’s mission to innovate the small-molecule discovery and development space across a broad range of targets and indications with the aim of bringing important new medicines to patients. Their joining Orogen at this time is a validation of the company’s platform, programs and positioning to date, and we look forward to continuing to reach new heights with these two industry leaders.”
Dr. Dolsten commented, “Having run R&D organizations in biopharma for several decades and participated in the building of premier bio organizations, I find Orogen at the right place at the right time as drug discovery, advanced chemical libraries and artificial intelligence integrate to reach new frontiers in medicine. I am excited to apply my deep experience to help the company grow and realize its mission of creating new therapies for disorders with unmet medical need.”
Mr. Weinand added, “Orogen is a unique drug discovery and development organization that is focused not only on building and leveraging its exciting platform, but more importantly advancing novel medicines through development and to approval and commercialization. My decades-long global experience knowing how to navigate the complexities of development and commercialization marketplaces will enhance Orogen’s fulfillment of these goals.”
Orogen applies its DEL- and AI-enabled platform to specific target, therapeutic areas and clinical indication verticals, the first of which is developing small-molecule alternatives to biological products in the immuno-inflammation (INI) space. Early screening successes yielded hit series against multiple cytokine targets, with several candidates in lead optimization moving toward anticipated near-term lead selection. Medically and commercially successful biologics developed for cytokine targets have highlighted the value of this space in multiple therapeutic areas including dermatology, rheumatology and gastroenterology for indications like psoriasis, eczema, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and IBD. Oral small-molecule medicines with good safety and efficacy profiles may represent attractive alternatives to biologics.
Mark Pykett, Orogen CEO, stated, “We are thrilled to add Mikael and Dieter to our Board. I look forward to their in-depth contributions to advancing our DEL- and AI-based platform and exciting programs in the INI space, as well as other therapeutic areas. Their experience will be invaluable as we seek to capitalize on the solid foundation the Company has put in place.”
Biographical Information
Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D.
Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., serves as Chairman of the Orogen Board. During his 16-year tenure as Chief Scientific Officer and President of Research and Development at Pfizer, Dr. Dolsten oversaw the regulatory approval of over 36 medicines and vaccines, while advancing more than 150 drug candidates into clinical studies. He championed breakthrough innovations across small-molecule medicines, biotherapeutics, gene therapies, and vaccines, and played a leading role in the global response to the COVID pandemic.
His leadership experience includes serving as President of Wyeth Research, Executive Vice President and Head of Worldwide Research at Boehringer Ingelheim, and Global VP at AstraZeneca managing cardiovascular, metabolic, and gastrointestinal R&D. Earlier, he led R&D at Astra Draco (pulmonary & inflammation) and headed Immunology-Oncology research at Pharmacia. During his 30+ years as an R&D leader, he has been connected to some 50 drug and vaccine approvals and several hundreds of novel candidate drugs transiting to clinical studies. Dr Dolsten has VC experience from work with Orbimed, ATP and Pfizer venture groups. He has in his Pharma career been involved in numerous small and large corporate transactions exceeding $100B in the aggregate. He currently sits on the public boards of Agilent Technologies and Rocket Pharmaceuticals, serves several private biotechs including Orbis Medicine, Fair Journey Biologics, ImmuneAi, Quarry Thera and ChAI discovery, is a senior advisor to Blackstone Life Sciences and GV (Google Ventures), is affiliated with the Scripps Research Institute and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is a member in The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. From 2014-24, Mikael co-chaired the Accelerating Medicine Partnership with NIH. He also served on the PhRMA Research & Development Leadership Forum and the PhRMA Foundation board of directors. Dr Dolsten has advised the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations in public health initiatives and the UK G7 leadership for pandemic responses. With over 160 scientific publications and numerous patents, Dr. Dolsten holds a Ph.D. in Tumor Immunology and an M.D. from the University of Lund, Sweden, where he serves as a Visiting Professor.
Dieter Wienand, M.S.
Dieter Weinand is an experienced business leader with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and the former CEO and Chairman of the board of Bayer Pharmaceuticals AG. He earned an M.S. in pharmacology and toxicology from Long Island University, New York, and a B.A. in biology from Concordia College, New York. During a career stretching back over 30 years, he has held various responsibilities in general management, commercial, operational and strategic leadership roles, leading business operations in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the United States, for companies including Bayer, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Sanofi. He has also led the launch and marketing of products in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular diseases, oncology, dermatology, immunology, respiratory diseases and inflammatory diseases. He is the former Chairman of the Board and current lead independent director of Replimune (REPL), Chairman of the Board of Clasp Tx, Executive Chairman of the Board of Fore Bio, and a member of the board of directors of Coya (COYA).
About Orogen Therapeutics
Orogen Therapeutics’ mission is to deliver groundbreaking clinical solutions to patients with serious unmet medical needs. The company is revolutionizing small-molecule drug discovery through its proprietary platform integrating DNA-encoded libraries (DEL) with massive chemical diversity of billions of compounds, virtual screening and AI-driven computation. The company’s proprietary, one-of-a-kind target-specific FocusDEL™ (patent pending) seeks to innovate the DEL landscape by enabling enriched hit yields from immense chemical spaces. This unique foundation is designed to enable the efficient derivation of novel drug candidates against a broad range of target classes.
Orogen's team includes scientists with decades of drug development experience and deep expertise in all aspects of small-molecule R&D, including DNA-encoded libraries, target selection and evaluation, cutting-edge AI and data science.
Forward-Looking Statements
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For more information, please visit our website at www.orogentx.com.
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Contacts
Media contact: Mark Pykett, Orogen Therapeutics, markp@orogentx.com
