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Arbor Biotechnologies Appoints Mathew Pletcher, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer
Gene therapy and rare disease leader with nearly two decades of drug development experience to focus on advancing the company’s next-generation gene editing pipeline
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arbor Biotechnologies, Inc., a biotechnology company discovering and developing the next generation of genetic medicines, today announced the appointment of Mathew Pletcher, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer, succeeding John Murphy, Ph.D., who is retiring after five years with the company and more than 30 years in the biopharma industry. In this role, Dr. Pletcher will lead Arbor’s scientific strategy and research organization as the company advances its wholly owned portfolio of novel gene editing therapeutics.
“As we celebrate John's retirement and the foundation he helped build, including Arbor’s first IND, we are excited to welcome Mat, who brings a rare combination of scientific depth, operational expertise, and genuine passion for patients with rare and serious genetic diseases,” said Devyn Smith, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Arbor Biotechnologies. “His experience leading large gene therapy research organizations, paired with his track record advancing programs from early discovery through regulatory approval, makes him the right scientific leader to help us accelerate our pipeline and realize the full potential of Arbor’s gene editing platform.”
Dr. Pletcher joins Arbor from Weaver Biosciences, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer, building a platform of heterobifunctional molecules enabling targeted transcriptional regulation. Prior to Weaver, he served as Chief Scientific Officer at Kisbee Therapeutics and as SVP and Division Head for Gene Therapy Research and Technical Operations at Astellas Gene Therapies, where his team led the company’s preclinical gene therapy portfolio and manufacturing activities.
Dr. Pletcher also served as Head of Rare Disease at Roche, directing early development and research activities and supporting the approval of Risdiplam (Evrysdi) for spinal muscular atrophy. Dr. Pletcher also held leadership roles at Pfizer, including Director of Medical Genetics for the Rare Disease Research Unit, and began his career at The Scripps Research Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in human genetics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed postdoctoral training at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation.
“Arbor has built a differentiated suite of gene editors with the versatility and precision to address diseases that have long been out of reach,” said Dr. Pletcher. “I’ve spent my career working to bring transformative therapies to patients with serious genetic diseases, and Arbor’s platform and pipeline represent a remarkable opportunity to do exactly that. I’m thrilled to join this talented team and help advance these programs toward the patients who need them the most.”
About Arbor Biotechnologies, Inc.
Arbor Biotechnologies™, a clinical stage, next-generation gene editing company based in Cambridge, MA, is advancing a portfolio of first-in-class genomic medicines addressing serious diseases for which there are no existing functional cures, with the lead program, ABO-101 for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria type 1, in clinical studies and a CNS pipeline initially prioritizing multiple ALS targets. The company’s unique breadth of gene editing technologies goes beyond the limitations of early editing approaches to unlock access to new gene targets and expand the therapeutic reach of genomic medicines. For more information, please visit: arbor.bio.
Media Contact:
Peg Rusconi
Deerfield Group
prusconi@deerfieldgroup.com
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