Pronutria Biosciences Appoints Garry E. Menzel, Ph.D., as Chief Business and Strategy Officer

Cambridge, Mass., October 19th, 2015 / BUSINESS WIRE / -- Pronutria Biosciences™ Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of therapeutics to mediate amino acid biology, announced today the appointment of Garry E. Menzel, Ph.D., as Chief Business and Strategy Officer.

“Garry is a highly respected life sciences executive bringing over two decades of experience in building healthcare businesses with significant contributions in strategy, finance, operations, and business development,” said Robert Connelly, President and CEO of Pronutria Biosciences. “His unique combination of expertise is ideally suited to advance the vast commercial opportunities of the Pronutria platform.”

Dr. Menzel joins Pronutria from DaVita Healthcare Partners (NASDAQ: DVA), a Fortune 250 company, where he served as Chief Financial Officer with a broad range of strategic responsibilities. Previously, Dr. Menzel served as Chief Operating Officer for Regulus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RGLS), where he was instrumental in building the company from a startup with novel technology to a clinical stage development. He led the IPO and significant strategic partnerships with Astra Zeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi. Dr. Menzel had a distinguished 14-year career on Wall Street, including leadership of the global life sciences and biotechnology franchises for Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. As Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, Dr. Menzel founded the firm’s biotechnology franchise, negotiating some of the industry’s most significant mergers and developing an extensive global network of life science industry leaders. In addition he was a consultant for Bain & Company, where he developed business strategies across a range of industries.

“Garry’s addition to Pronutria’s dynamic senior team comes on the heels of significant progress and internal acceleration,” said Noubar Afeyan, CEO and Managing Partner of Flagship Ventures, and Chairman at Pronutria Biosciences. “Pronutria is primed to make significant advances in the coming year. Garry’s unique background and powerful network will help Pronutria maximize the full potential of their platform and product landscape.”

Dr. Menzel earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Cambridge, England, his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and his BSc in biochemistry from Imperial College London.

“Pronutria has developed a platform that enables rapid product selection and development with broad application, resulting in the emergence of a new therapeutic and nutritional modality,” said Dr. Menzel. “I am thrilled to be a part of the amazing team of pioneers behind this novel technology, and look forward to expanding the impact and reach of Pronutria’s platform during this exciting time.”

ABOUT PRONUTRIA BIOSCIENCES

Pronutria Biosciences is pioneering new nutritional and therapeutic modalities: amino acid biologics. Amino acids (AA) are known as the “building blocks of life,” and are fundamental regulators of health. The entire body, ranging from microscopic cells to organs, is dependent on tightly controlled AA homeostasis. More than 2000 disorders are linked to differences in AA metabolism and transport. The dysregulation of AAs cause and/or drive the onset of a number of conditions. Using insights from a clinically validated body of evidence, Pronutria Biosciences is developing first-in-class therapeutic and nutritional solutions to these conditions with a focus on amino acid biology. This novel approach allows us to precisely target biology that was previously inaccessible, providing a unique opportunity to address a variety of serious nutritional and medical conditions, such as muscle, metabolic, neurological, and hepatic disorders. Founded by Flagship VentureLabs, privately-held Pronutria Biosciences is based in Cambridge MA. For more information, please visit www.pronutriabio.com.