Nucleome Therapeutics, a biotechnology company decoding the dark matter of the human genome to uncover novel ways to treat disease, today announces the appointment of Dr Jonathan Hepple as a non-executive director to its Board.

Dr Danuta Jeziorska, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Nucleome, said: “98% of our genome is largely uncharted due to technical barriers. This ‘dark’ genome contains the majority of disease-linked genetic changes, but their value has largely remained untapped. Nucleome has an innovative platform that has the ability to unlock its potential for discovery of drug target with associated biomarkers with aim to develop better and safer drugs guided by genetics. Our initial focus in on lymphocytes and autoimmune diseases.”

“I am delighted to welcome Jon to the Board of Directors. His experience of supporting deep sciences-based ventures through all the stages of growth will be invaluable to the Company. Jon’s support and commitment will help us advance and scale Nucleome’s innovative platform to discover and develop novel, better and safer drugs that have a transformative impact on the lives of patients with autoimmune diseases.”

Dr Jonathan Hepple, Incoming Non-executive Director of Nucleome, said: “It’s exciting to join the Board of Nucleome, as a representative of OSI, at such a pivotal point in its growth. The depth of scientific expertise and the cutting-edge technologies behind Nucleome’s platform give the company a unique potential into understanding how the genome functions across cell types and diseases, unlocking it for the discovery and development of new treatments.”

Nucleome’s platform is based on a decade of research from the University of Oxford and combines state of the art computational and experimental approaches. These define high resolution cell type specific 3D genome maps and enable variant functional validation at scale in primary cell types to map disease affected pathways and find novel ways to treat diseases.

Prof Jim Hughes, Director & Founder of Nucleome, said: “Nucleome’s platform enables us to map, in 3D, cell type specific genome interactions with unprecedented resolution and sensitivity in primary cells. This enables us to link genetic variants to affected genes with precision and confidence. These are exciting times at Nucleome.”

Nucleome’s aim is to build a robust pipeline of drug assets with corresponding biomarkers. The Company has investigated over 3.5 million disease-linked variants to uncover genetic changes that have the potential to create and destroy functional elements within the dark genome of lymphocytes. For a scalable and smart variant prioritisation and exploration, the company has built Lantern, a proprietary database.

Nucleome is at an exciting step in its evolution. The most promising variants are now being linked to affected genes experimentally allowing for disease pathway mapping and novel drug target discovery and selection.

Jonathan brings more than 20 years of investment experience in the life sciences industry. He is a co-founder of Rosetta Capital, a leading life sciences-focused investment firm, where he has served as a director since its inception in 2009. Jonathan is also a strategic advisor to Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), the founding investor in Nucleome. Jonathan’s previous roles include founder and Director of BioScience Managers Ltd, Partner at Seroba Life Sciences and Investment Analyst at Rothschild Asset Management. He is a seasoned board member, currently serving as Non-Executive Director of several life science companies including Carrick Therapeutics and Mission Therapeutics, and previously Aprea Therapeutics, Novimmune, Opsona Therapeutics and Covagen. Jonathan holds a PhD in cancer research from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Oxford.

About Nucleome Therapeutics

Nucleome Therapeutics is decoding the dark matter of the human genome to uncover novel ways to treat disease. The dark genome holds more than 95% of disease-linked genetic variants whose value remains untapped, representing a significant opportunity for drug discovery and development. We have the unique ability to link these variants to gene function and map disease pathways. Our cell type-specific platform creates high resolution 3D genome structure maps and enables variant functional validation at scale in primary cell types. This enables us to discover and develop novel, better and safer drugs. The initial focus of the company is on lymphocytes and related autoimmune disease. Our ambition is to build a robust pipeline of drug assets, with corresponding biomarkers. Nucleome Therapeutics was founded by leading experts in gene regulation from the University of Oxford and backed by investment from Oxford Sciences Innovation. For more information, please visit www.nucleome.com.