Orogen Therapeutics Announces Expansion of Scientific Advisory Board with Drug Discovery and Development Experts

WOBURN, MA, June 4, 2025 – Orogen Therapeutics, Inc., a private drug discovery company utilizing its proprietary, AI-enabled DNA encoded library (DEL) technology to identify novel chemical matter against medically- and commercially-attractive drug targets, today announced the expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board with Humphrey Gardner, M.S., M.A., MBBChir, and Christopher Winter, Ph.D.

"At this exciting point in Orogen's growth moving our initial therapeutic programs from our unique AI- and DEL-enabled drug discovery platform toward translational and clinical trial efforts, Drs. Gardner and Winter bring immense drug discovery and development experience to the Company," said Mark Pykett, Orogen CEO. "With outstanding track records navigating the stepwise progression from research to clinical trials, these two industry experts will be of immense help in our efforts to bring novel oral medicines to patients."

Strategic Advisory Expertise

Both advisors will focus on supporting pipeline programs derived from Orogen's DEL platform. Humphrey Gardner, a physician-scientist with extensive experience navigating the translation of innovative science through clinical development toward useful medicines, will help drive Orogen's translational and clinical efforts. Chris Winter, a biopharma veteran having been involved with a range of innovative medical technologies and the approval of novel medicines, will advise on developing early program value through target, biology, and pre-clinical related work.

Dr. Gardner commented, "Orogen's innovative platform and early-stage programs represent exciting opportunities to derive and advance novel oral medicines. I am excited to provide my experience in drug development generally, and in clinical development in particular, to help the Company realize its goals."

Dr. Winter added, "Having always been drawn to cutting-edge medical innovation, I look forward to applying my expertise advancing unique pharmaceutical candidates as Orogen advances its drug development efforts."

Platform Progress

Orogen applies its AI- and DEL-enabled platform into discrete target, therapeutic area and clinical indication verticals, the first of which is developing small molecule alternatives to biological products in the immuno-inflammation (INI) space. Early screening successes yielded hit series against multiple cytokine targets, with several candidates in lead optimization moving toward anticipated near-term lead selection.

Medically and commercially successful biologics developed for cytokine targets have validated the value of this space in multiple therapeutic areas including dermatology, rheumatology and gastroenterology for indications like psoriasis, eczema, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and IBD. Oral small molecule medicines with good safety and efficacy profiles may represent attractive options for many patients.

Biographical Information

Humphrey Gardner M.S., M.A., MBBChir

Humphrey Gardner's career in the biopharmaceutical industry spans over two decades, ranging from bench discovery to late-stage clinical development across a range of disease areas. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Precede Biosciences and was previously CMO at Harbour BioMed, CMO at Stingthera, CMO in Residence at Roivant Sciences and Chief of Oncology at Evelo Biosciences.

Prior to this, Dr. Gardner held senior roles at AstraZeneca as Clinical Vice President Translational Medicine, Oncology, at Novartis as Executive Director, Oncology Translational Laboratories, and at Biogen, and before industry, Dr. Gardner was Assistant Professor at The Scripps Research Institute, Research Fellow at the Whitehead Institute, MIT, Clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School, and completed his internship at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Dr. Gardner is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists and has authored nearly approximately 100 publications. Dr. Gardner holds a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and obtained his medical degree from the University of Cambridge.

Christopher Winter, PhD

Chris Winter has spent his career guiding drug discovery strategy and execution at the intersection of science and business, with an emphasis on using data-driven approaches and integrating genomics and computational tools to speed progress from concept to the clinic. Presently, he is president and co-founder of Coherent Medicines.

Earlier in his career, he led successful teams in early phase companies Silicon Therapeutics, and Blueprint Medicines, as well as the pharmaceutical companies Merck and Sanofi, contributing to the progression of programs to clinical milestones and the approval of new medicines. Dr. Winter received his PhD from Columbia University in biochemistry and molecular biophysics and trained as a postdoctoral fellow in genetics at Stanford University.

About Orogen Therapeutics

Orogen Therapeutics' mission is to deliver groundbreaking clinical solutions to patients with serious unmet medical needs. The company is revolutionizing small-molecule drug discovery through its proprietary platform integrating DNA-encoded libraries (DEL) with massive chemical diversity of billions of compounds, virtual screening and AI-driven computation. The company's proprietary, one-of-a-kind target-specific FocusDEL™ (patent pending) seeks to innovate the DEL landscape by enabling enriched hit yields from immense chemical spaces.

This unique foundation is designed to enable the efficient derivation of novel drug candidates against a broad range of target classes. Orogen's team includes scientists with decades of drug development experience and deep expertise in all aspects of small-molecule R&D, including DNA-encoded libraries, target selection and evaluation, cutting-edge AI and data science.

Forward-Looking Statements

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All statements, other than those of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding outlook, expectations and guidance. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain and subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.

For more information, please visit our website at www.orogentx.com.

Media contact: Mark Pykett, Orogen Therapeutics, markp@orogentx.com