News

Posted On: 03/29/2007

Acceleron Pharma Names Steininger SVP of Manufacturing

PharmaManufacturing.com

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of musculoskeletal, metabolic and cancer-related diseases, announced the appointment of Robert Steininger as senior vice president, Manufacturing.

"Acceleron is rapidly advancing and expanding our product pipeline of novel protein therapeutics to treat musculoskeletal, metabolic and cancer-related diseases. Since our inception, we have manufactured our preclinical and clinical material in our GMP manufacturing facility and are committed to continuing this value-creating capability. We are pleased to have Bob join Acceleron and our management team as he brings substantial experience and expertise that will help us continue the tremendous progress we're making across all of our development programs," said John Knopf, Ph.D., interim president of Acceleron.

"I'm excited to join Acceleron and lead the growth of the manufacturing organization as this function will be critical to the success of the company," said Steininger. "Our lead program, ACE-011, will be entering phase 2 clinical trials later this year and we expect our second and third programs to enter phase 1 trials this year as well. Acceleron's commitment to internally produce protein therapeutics in its own facility, a rare capability among most biotechnology companies, ensures that we can rapidly, efficiently and cost-effectively advance our pipeline products. We will continue to build and invest in this area to support the development of our rich pipeline of novel biotherapeutics."

Steininger was previously the vice president of Process Sciences at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing the processes for the bulk production of both large and small molecule clinical candidates. Steininger also served as a VP within the Millennium Product and Portfolio Management organization. Prior to joining Millennium, he held multiple roles at Genetics Institute (now Wyeth Pharmaceuticals) from 1984 to 2000, including director of clinical production, director of process technology, director of regulatory affairs, and senior director of research, Genomics. Steininger received an S.B. in chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.