CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Strand Therapeutics, a privately held developer of next-generation, programmable mRNA therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy and other diseases, announced that Prashant Nambiar, DVM, PhD, MBA has been appointed Senior Vice President, Research and Translational Development.
With almost two decades in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Dr. Nambiar brings significant experience in drug discovery, pharmacology and translational development across different therapeutic areas and modalities.
“Prashant is a seasoned veteran and widely recognized as a star in the biopharma industry with extensive expertise in R&D leadership and accelerating oncology programs,” said Tasuku Kitada, PhD, co-founder, President and Head of R&D of Strand. “His experience in drug development and strategic operations will allow us to advance our platform technology, expand our pipeline, and build out our research and translational development groups. We enthusiastically welcome Prashant to the Strand family.”
Before joining Strand, Dr. Nambiar led multiple groups at bluebird bio and 2seventyBio as Vice President, Preclinical and Translational Development, and was responsible for preclinical target safety strategy, as well as IND-enabling studies for cell therapy and gene editing programs that included external biopharma research partnerships. During his 10-year tenure at Pfizer, he held several leadership roles, most recently as Senior Director, Strategy and Operations. While at Pfizer, Dr. Nambiar was involved in hazard identification and risk assessment of various drug modalities in the Pfizer portfolio including cell and gene therapy at different stages of development. Dr. Nambiar received his PhD in Pathobiology of Cancer from the University of Connecticut Health Center and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Business. He is also board certified in Toxicology and Veterinary Pathology.
“Strand’s impressive long-acting, cell-specific mRNA platform, which enables multi-functional, precise and controlled treatment delivery, is highly differentiated, and I am excited to join the company at this critical time as they get closer to bringing the next generation of mRNA-based therapies into the clinic,” said Dr. Nambiar. “I am intrigued by the progress the company has made and am looking forward to helping Strand’s team of synthetic biologists and bioengineers with a common vision of bringing life-saving, transformative therapies to patients.”
