VenatoRx has been awarded an NIH R01 Grant for novel approaches to address biodefense-related infections. The company may receive up to $6M of funding under the grant. READ FULL TEXT
René Russo, PharmD, BCPS
René Russo, PharmD, BCPS
President and Chief Executive Officer
Arsanis, Inc.
René Russo, PharmD, BCPS, has spent more than 15 years in anti-infective R&D and has leadership experience across all phases of drug development, including global commercial launches for five novel antibacterial agents and clinical development and registration of several antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal therapeutics. Her work has spanned the earliest phases of in vitro and animal work to clinical pharmacology, clinical development, and post-marketing clinical outcomes research. Prior to Arsanis, Dr. Russo served in various roles over an 11-year period at Cubist Pharmaceuticals (Cubist). As Vice President of an 80+ person global team, Dr. Russo oversaw the clinical microbiology program (including extensive in vitro and animal work to support dose selection and PK/PD analyses), contributed to the design of multiple Phase 1 to Phase 3 clinical studies, and directly managed the oversight of several global burden of disease programs, including urosepsis and nosocomial pneumonia, to understand the outcomes and unmet medical needs in these infectious diseases. In her role at Cubist, she was also responsible for the oversight of more than 140 studies designed to further understand Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections, including epidemiology, resistance patterns, and the study of various treatments (including combination therapies) across nonclinical and clinical studies. Dr. Russo directly oversaw investigator-initiated research for a broad portfolio of anti-infectives, including daptomycin, fidaxomicin, ceftolozane/tazobactam, and tedizolid. Prior to her time at Cubist, Dr. Russo held roles of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb where she started her industry career as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Industrial Pharmacy Infectious Diseases. She also held clinical positions at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Princeton Hospital before joining the biotechnology industry. Dr. Russo received her PharmD and Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Rutgers University and holds a Board of Pharmacy Specialties Pharmacotherapy Certification (BCPS).