Idera Pharmaceuticals has named James Geraghty as the company’s new chairman.
Idera specialises in developing toll-like receptors (TLRs) for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions and will benefit from Geraghty’s extensive career in the life sciences industry, which includes 20 years ion senior roles at leading biotech Genzyme.
He was later appointed senior VP, North America strategy at Sanofi after the company took over Genzyme in 2011, before leaving earlier this year to become entrepreneur-in-residence at venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures.
“I believe that the addition of Jim and his extensive experience comes at an ideal moment, and we look forward to his guidance and contributions as we advance our programmes toward later stage development,” said Dr Sudhir Agrawal, CEO of Idera.
These programmes involve the company’s TLR antagonist drug candidates, which Idera says have shown proof-of-concept in clinical trials and are set for further studies in psoriasis and other conditions.