Oxford, 8 May 2019 – OMass Therapeutics (“OMass”), a drug discovery company using structural mass spectrometry to discover novel medicines, today announced the appointment of Rosamond Deegan MBA, as Chief Executive Officer. Ros brings more than 20 years’ experience in drug discovery and development leadership in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, both in the UK and the US.

We have made great progress since the formation of OMass and are delighted to welcome Ros to our leadership team at this important time in the Company’s development,” said Professor Dame Carol Robinson, Founder & Scientific Advisor, OMass Therapeutics. “Ros brings proven experience in leading corporate development, strategy, operations and commercial development, all of which will be invaluable as we leverage and expand our core capability in proprietary high-resolution mass spectrometry to build an exciting portfolio of therapeutics.”

Ros Deegan, Chief Executive Officer, OMass Therapeutics commented:
“OMass Therapeutics is pioneering the use of structural mass spectrometry for drug discovery that has the capability to identify novel drugs to precisely target large protein complexes. I am very excited to be joining this accomplished team and look forward to working with my new colleagues to create an industry-leading pipeline of therapeutics that offer new treatment options for patients.”

Dr Edward Hodgkin, Executive Chairman, OMass Therapeutics and Partner at Syncona Investment Management Limited, added: “We are delighted to have appointed someone of Ros’ calibre to lead OMass, which we believe is a testament to the company’s unique proposition, following its re-launch as a drug development business last year. Ros is a highly experienced leader and will bring important corporate and commercial expertise to the business, which will be a great complement to the leadership team’s pharmaceutical and technological capabilities.”

Ros joined OMass Therapeutics from Bicycle Therapeutics where she served as President, Chief Business Officer and a Director of the US subsidiary of the Company. Ros established the company’s Boston-based subsidiary and over a three-year period led three major transactions and grew the US organisation to more than 20 employees. Prior to that she served as Senior Vice President, Business Development and Operations at Trevena, Inc, where she had previously held the role of Head of Finance and Operations. During Ros’ tenure at Bicycle and Trevena, the companies moved four programmes into the clinic, and raised over $300 million in private and public financings. In her earlier career, Ros was Director of Business Development at GSK in the US and, prior to that, she served as Director of Operations for GSK’s Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD) and as Marketing Manager for GSK’s UK launch of Bonviva for post-menopausal osteoporosis. Ros is a graduate of Cambridge University and received her MBA with distinction from INSEAD.

OMass Therapeutics was formed in 2016 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford and completed a £14 million Series A financing in 2018 from Syncona and Oxford Sciences Innovation. OMass applies structural mass spectrometry technology developed in the laboratory of Prof. Dame Carol Robinson to the discovery of novel therapeutics against complex protein targets, including membrane proteins.

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Further information:
JW Communications
Julia Wilson +44 (0)7818 430877
juliawilsonuk@gmail.com

Notes for Editors:

About OMass Therapeutics
OMass Therapeutics is a private pharmaceutical company, focused on structural mass spectrometry to discover novel medicines. The company uses its suite of proprietary technologies based on high-resolution mass spectrometry to study intact protein assemblies. The technology enables detection of drug leads that not only bind to the target complex, but also exert a functional effect through modulating complex formation. These methods are being applied to drug discovery for a variety of complex targets, including membrane proteins, addressing severe unmet medical needs. OMass is backed by Syncona Ltd and Oxford Sciences Innovation. For further information please visit the Company’s website at: www.omass.com