AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGLE), a biotechnology company committed to developing enzyme-based therapeutics in the field of amino acid metabolism to treat rare disease and cancer, today announced the appointment of leading experts to its newly formed Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB will serve as a strategic resource to Aeglea, providing scientific and clinical insights to support its pipeline of engineered human enzymes.

“We are thrilled to welcome this highly accomplished group as our Scientific Advisory Board, whose background and experience span genetic rare diseases and cancer,” said David G. Lowe, Ph.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Aeglea. “Our SAB members bring a unique depth of scientific and clinical expertise that will be of critical importance not only as we advance our lead candidate AEB1102 further in clinical development, but also as we promote our innovative enzyme-based platform of therapeutics. We look forward to partnering with this team to achieve our mission of bringing important treatments to patients with genetic rare diseases and cancer.”

The inaugural members of the SAB include:

• Keith Flaherty, M.D., director, Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center; professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School;
• Arthur Frankel, M.D., professor of internal medicine, division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; leader of Phase 1 clinical trials, Harold Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center;
• Wayne Klohs, Ph.D., former senior vice president and global therapeutics head of Oncology, Astellas Pharma Inc.;
• Matthew Vander Heiden, M.D., Ph.D., Eisen and Chang Associate Professor, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Institute Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Instructor in Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School; and
• Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., physician-in-chief and distinguished professor, Translational Genomics Research Institute; chief scientific officer, HonorHealth Research Institute; medical director of research, McKesson Specialty Health, U.S. Oncology Research; professor of medicine, The Mayo Clinic.

In addition, members of Aeglea’s board of directors, George Georgiou, Ph.D., co-founder of Aeglea and the Laura Jennings Turner Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and Anthony Quinn, M.B. Ch.B., Ph.D., FRCP, former executive vice president, head of research & development and chief medical officer, Synageva BioPharma Corp. will act as liaisons between the board of directors and the SAB.

About Aeglea BioTherapeutics

Aeglea is a biotechnology company committed to developing recombinant human enzymes for the treatment of rare diseases and cancers associated with abnormal amino acid metabolism. The company’s recombinant human enzymes are designed to degrade specific amino acids in the blood in order to reduce toxic levels of amino acids in rare diseases or to starve tumors dependent on amino acids by reducing levels below the normal range. Aeglea’s clinical program for its lead product candidate, AEB1102, includes three recently initiated Phase 1 clinical trials, studying AEB1102 for the treatment of patients with Arginase I deficiency as well as patients with solid tumors or hematological malignancies. The company is building a pipeline of additional product candidates targeting key amino acids, including AEB4104, which degrades homocystine, a target for an inborn error of metabolism, as well as two potential treatments for cancer, AEB3103, which degrades cysteine/cystine, and AEB2109, which degrades methionine.

For more information, visit http://aegleabio.com.