Kintai Therapeutics Appoints Biotech Veteran John Mendlein, Ph.D., as Chairman of the Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)--Kintai Therapeutics, a Flagship Pioneering company, today announced the appointment of biotech industry veteran John Mendlein, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors as chairman of the board. Dr. Mendlein, who currently serves as executive partner at Flagship Pioneering, brings over 23 years of biotech industry expertise to Kintai. Dr. Mendlein replaces Jim Gilbert, who has transitioned off of the board.

“We are very excited to welcome Dr. Mendlein as the newest member of the Kintai Board of Directors,” said Paul Peter Tak, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Kintai. “As an accomplished industry leader who has led and served on the boards of numerous innovative life science companies, John brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise at this pivotal period of growth and scientific advancement in our organization. As we welcome John, we want to thank and express our deep appreciation to Jim Gilbert for his many contributions as a board member. As a member of the Flagship family, Jim will continue to remain accessible to us for advice.”

John Mendlein, Ph.D., executive partner of Flagship Pioneering, added, “Kintai’s industry leading enteric biology and chemistry platform has already elucidated several intriguing targets and small molecule chemistry for novel, impactful, druggable therapeutic intervention points. Kintai’s enteric therapies show promise to change patient outcomes in a plethora of diseases, such as cancer and neurological disease. I look forward to Paul Peter’s leadership of world class science to bring innovative small molecules into the clinic with its new class of medicines: Precision Enteric Medicine™ (PEM™ compounds).”

About John Mendlein, Ph.D.
Dr. John Mendlein is executive partner at Flagship Pioneering. As a longtime member of Flagship’s broader ecosystem of companies, John is an experienced biotech leader and has served in numerous executive and board roles. At Flagship, John contributes to strategic and operational objectives, including the origination of new Flagship Labs companies. Throughout his 23+ year career in biotech, John has helped start and lead numerous innovative life sciences companies with product platforms. Prior to joining Flagship, John served as president of corporate and product strategy at Moderna Therapeutics, where he led the cross-functional team responsible for ensuring Moderna’s readiness for its initial public offering in 2018. John has also held leadership roles at multiple biotech enterprises, including chief knowledge officer and general counsel at Aurora Biosciences, CEO of Adnexus Therapeutics, executive chairman, founder, and interim CEO of Fate Therapeutics and CEO of Affinium Pharmaceuticals. John is co-author or co-inventor of over 210 publications and published patents. He is a founder and board member of Homes for Sudan, a non-profit in Boston, and a scientific advisory board member for Ocean Discovery Institute, a non-profit in San Diego. He has served on the boards of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), as well as on four of Flagship’s companies: Moderna, Adnexus, Axcella Health and Editas Medicine. John currently serves on the board of Flagship companies Cogen Immune Medicine and Ohana Biosciences. John holds a Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and a B.S. in biology from the University of Miami.

About Kintai

Kintai Therapeutics is uniquely focused on unlocking the power of the enteric signaling network and its signals throughout the body to fight disease and restore health. The company’s Precision Enteric Medicine™ (PEM™) compounds are based on a deep understanding of the interconnected biology of the microbiome, gut immune system, and enteric nervous system. Kintai has pioneered a new frontier in gut science, resulting in a unique understanding of a wealth of new genes, metabolites, and signaling molecules, leveraging these insights to rapidly translate into a highly actionable pipeline. Through the company’s focus on human biology, experimental medicine, bioinformatics and machine learning, Kintai has created a discovery and therapeutic development approach to identify and deliver new medicines. Kintai’s multidisciplinary expertise and its technology platform has delivered a pipeline of programs across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, metabolic disease and immunology. Kintai believes that its core strength lies in the hearts and minds of its talented employees who keep patients at the center. Kintai was founded in 2016 by Flagship Labs, the innovation foundry of Flagship Pioneering. To learn more, please visit the company’s website at www.kintaitx.com.