Translate Bio Appoints Robert Plenge, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors

LEXINGTON, Mass., April 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Translate Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: TBIO), a clinical-stage messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics company developing a new class of potentially transformative medicines to treat diseases caused by protein or gene dysfunction, today announced the appointment of Robert Plenge, M.D., Ph.D., vice president, research and early development and head of the Inflammation and Immunology Thematic Center of Excellence Unit at Celgene, to its Board of Directors.

“On behalf of the Translate Bio team, I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Plenge to our board of directors,” said Ronald Renaud, chief executive officer, Translate Bio. “Robert has dedicated his career to bringing innovative medicines to patients through cutting-edge research. His aspiration of establishing an entrepreneurial research and development community that puts patients first makes him an exceptional addition to our board.”

“My personal mission is to perform discovery research that starts and ends with the patient, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to further pursue this objective by joining Translate Bio’s board of directors,” said Dr. Plenge. “Translate Bio has already accomplished a great deal in bringing the first mRNA therapeutics for a genetic disease into clinical trials, and I am excited to contribute to their goal of bringing mRNA therapies to patients in need of novel, disease-modifying treatment options.”

Dr. Plenge spent over 20 years in academic medicine before transitioning to a career in the pharmaceutical industry in 2013. He is currently vice president, research and early development and head of the Inflammation and Immunology Thematic Center of Excellence Unit at Celgene. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic vision, implementation and partnership of novel therapies for immune, inflammatory and fibrotic disorders. Prior to joining Celgene in May 2017, Dr. Plenge was vice president and head of translational medicine at Merck & Company. Prior to transitioning to the pharmaceutical industry, he was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute while practicing clinical rheumatology and running a research laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 2007 to 2013. Dr. Plenge completed his internal medicine residency as a Molecular Medicine Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco in 2002, served as rheumatology fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 2002 to 2006 and post-doctoral research fellow at the Broad Institute from 2003 to 2007. Dr. Plenge’s original research has been published in top-tier medical journals. In recognition of his accomplishments, he has received numerous awards, including: Pre-doctoral Clinical Award from The American Society of Human Genetics (1995), The Young Investigator Award from the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (2008), Career Award for Medical Scientists from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (2008), and election to The American Society for Clinical Investigation (2012). Dr. Plenge graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, San Diego in 1992, and received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University in 2000.

About Translate Bio

Translate Bio is a clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company developing a new class of potentially transformative medicines to treat diseases caused by protein or gene dysfunction. The Company’s MRT platform is designed to develop product candidates that deliver mRNA carrying instructions to produce intracellular, transmembrane and secreted proteins for therapeutic benefit. Translate Bio believes that its MRT platform is applicable to a broad range of diseases caused by insufficient protein production or where production of proteins can modify disease, including diseases that affect the lung, liver, eye and central nervous system. The Company also believes its MRT platform may be applied to various classes of treatments, such as therapeutic antibodies or vaccines in areas such as infectious disease and oncology. Translate Bio’s two lead programs are being developed as treatments for cystic fibrosis (CF) and ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency. For more information about the Company, please visit  or on Twitter at @TranslateBio.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding:  Translate Bio’s expectations regarding the potential for the newly appointed board member to provide leadership and experience and to help bring mRNA therapies to patients; the benefits and broad applicability of the Company’s MRT^TM platform; and Translate Bio’s plans, strategies and prospects for its business, including its lead development programs. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from current expectations and beliefs, including but not limited to: Translate Bio’s ability to advance the development of its platform and programs under the timelines it projects, demonstrate the requisite safety and efficacy of its product candidates and replicate in clinical trials any positive findings from preclinical studies; the content and timing of decisions made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, other regulatory authorities and investigational review boards at clinical trial sites, including as it relates to ongoing and planned clinical trials; Translate Bio’s ability to obtain, maintain and enforce necessary patent and other intellectual property protection (for example, two of our patents issued in Europe are under opposition); the availability of significant cash required to fund operations; competitive factors; general economic and market conditions and other important risk factors set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in Translate Bio’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 21, 2019 and in any other subsequent filings made by Translate Bio. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Translate Bio specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.