Slate Medicines has appointed Kenneth Koblan, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer as the company advances its migraine pipeline. “Ken’s ability to bridge discovery innovation and development excellence across multiple successful products and novel platforms demonstrates his deep understanding of what it takes to build and advance a world-class pipeline,” said CEO Gregory Oakes.
About Kenneth Koblan
Koblan brings more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery and development to the role. “Slate’s work targeting the PACAP/VIP pathway represents an exciting opportunity to build on our understanding of neuropeptide biology and potentially advance the treatment of migraine beyond what is possible today,” Koblan said.
Koblan joins Slate from Vesalius Therapeutics, where he served as Head of Research and Development. Before that, he spent 13 years at Sumitomo Pharma America (formerly Sunovion), most recently as Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Development Operations. Earlier in his career, he held senior scientific leadership positions at Merck Research Laboratories, where he contributed to the development of GARDASIL®, JANUVIA®, and BELSOMRA®, and led the discovery of telcagepant and its backup compounds UBRELVY® and QULIPTA®, establishing clinical proof of concept for oral CGRP antagonism and helping pioneer the gepant class for migraine
He also served as Chief Scientific Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, where he led the company’s “5×15” rare disease initiative and contributed to the development of ONPATTRO®, the first approved RNA interference medicine.
Koblan was elected to the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in 2022 and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 192 patent applications. He holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Slate Medicines
Slate Medicines is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, committed to advancing innovative new therapies that may broaden the treatment paradigm and improve outcomes for people with migraine and other headache disorders. The company is advancing a portfolio of potentially best-in-class therapeutics led by SLTE-1009, a clinical-stage monoclonal antibody designed to bind both the PACAP and VIP neuropeptides implicated in migraine, with an extended half-life intended to support infrequent, subcutaneous dosing.
