Synthetic Biologics hires Michael Kaleko as scientific director

Synthetic Biologics, a US biotech specialised in developing synthetic DNA-based treatments, has appointed Dr Michael Kaleko as its new scientific director.

Kaleko, who has been a biotech consultant since 2010, has worked in gene therapy for over 20 years and previously co-founded eyecare specialist Advanced Vision Therapies in 2002, before serving as the company's president and chief scientific officer.

Prior to this he co-directed research at Genetic Therapy, a subsidiary of Novartis, where he developed multiple gene transfer and gene expression platform technologies for haemophilia, cancer, diabetes and ocular diseases.

"We are pleased to welcome Mike to the Synthetic Biologics' team,” said Jeffrey Riley, CEO and chair at Synthetic Biologics.

“We expect that Mike's significant accomplishments in the field of gene therapy will be valuable assets as we continue the work to build our portfolio of synthetic biologics and DNA-based human therapeutics."