Korsana Biosciences Strengthens Executive Leadership as KRSA-028 Advances Toward Clinical Development for Alzheimer’s Disease
Korsana Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing innovative therapies for neurodegenerative disorders, has announced a series of strategic leadership appointments designed to support its transition into a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The company has named Matthew Leoni, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, Gan Wei, Ph.D., as Chief Technical Officer, and Heidi Henson to its Board of Directors, where she will also serve as Chair of the Audit Committee.
The appointments come at a pivotal stage for Korsana as it prepares to advance KRSA-028, its lead therapeutic candidate enabled by the company’s proprietary THETA™ platform, into clinical development for Alzheimer’s disease. At the same time, Korsana continues to expand its broader pipeline of therapies aimed at addressing neurodegenerative diseases, an area where significant unmet medical need remains despite decades of research.
Building Leadership for the Next Phase of Growth
The company believes that expanding its executive leadership team with experienced industry professionals will strengthen its ability to execute on key development milestones, prepare for clinical-stage operations, and position itself for long-term growth.
Jonathan Violin, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Korsana Biosciences, said the new appointments represent an important step in the company’s evolution.
According to Dr. Violin, Korsana is entering a new stage in its corporate development that requires experienced leaders capable of guiding clinical development, technical operations, manufacturing strategy, financial governance, and corporate growth. He emphasized that each of the newly appointed executives brings decades of biotechnology experience, having helped build and scale innovative life sciences companies while advancing numerous therapeutic programs from early research into clinical development and commercialization.
He noted that the collective expertise of Dr. Leoni, Dr. Wei, and Ms. Henson significantly strengthens Korsana’s leadership team as the company advances KRSA-028 and seeks to unlock the broader potential of its THETA™ technology platform for patients living with devastating neurodegenerative disorders.
Advancing KRSA-028 for Alzheimer’s Disease
The leadership expansion aligns closely with Korsana’s development timeline for KRSA-028, the company’s lead therapeutic candidate targeting Alzheimer’s disease.
KRSA-028 is based on Korsana’s proprietary THETA™ platform, which is designed to generate therapies capable of addressing key biological mechanisms involved in neurodegeneration.
Although Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the world’s most challenging neurological disorders, scientific progress in recent years has increased optimism that disease-modifying therapies may slow progression by targeting the biological drivers responsible for neuronal damage and cognitive decline.
Korsana is positioning KRSA-028 as a potential best-in-class therapeutic candidate with the goal of delivering meaningful clinical benefits for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
The company expects to initiate first-in-human clinical development in the coming year, with Phase 1 healthy volunteer data anticipated in mid-2027.
Following successful completion of early-stage clinical evaluation, Korsana plans to generate interim proof-of-concept data assessing amyloid plaque clearance in Alzheimer’s disease patients by the end of 2027 or during the first quarter of 2028.
These milestones are expected to provide important evidence regarding both the safety profile and biological activity of KRSA-028 while informing future clinical development strategies.
Merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics Remains on Track
In addition to advancing its lead therapeutic candidate, Korsana continues to make progress toward its previously announced merger with Cyclerion Therapeutics.
The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory requirements.
Following completion of the merger, the combined organization intends to operate under the Korsana Biosciences, Inc. name and trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “KRSA.”
Company executives believe the transaction will strengthen Korsana’s financial resources and public market presence while supporting continued investment in its growing pipeline of neurodegenerative disease therapies.
Matthew Leoni Named Chief Medical Officer
As newly appointed Chief Medical Officer, Matthew Leoni, M.D., will oversee clinical strategy and development as Korsana transitions into human clinical studies.
Dr. Leoni brings more than two decades of experience leading clinical development programs across multiple therapeutic areas.
Most recently, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Merida Biosciences, where he joined shortly after the company’s Series A financing. During his tenure, he established the clinical development organization and successfully guided the company’s lead therapeutic candidate through Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance and into clinical trials.
Prior to Merida Biosciences, Dr. Leoni held the position of Senior Vice President of Development at Cerevel Therapeutics, where he was part of the founding executive leadership team.
During his time at Cerevel, he contributed to numerous clinical development milestones, supported the company’s successful public listing, and helped guide the organization through its eventual acquisition by AbbVie.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Leoni held leadership roles in clinical development at several major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including:
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical
- Novartis
- Galderma
- Immunomedics
His broad experience spans both early-stage and late-stage clinical development, contributing to the advancement and regulatory approval of multiple innovative medicines.
Dr. Leoni earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, completed an MBA in Pharmaceutical Management at Drexel University, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Franklin & Marshall College.
Gan Wei Appointed Chief Technical Officer
Korsana has also appointed Gan Wei, Ph.D., as Chief Technical Officer, where he will oversee manufacturing strategy, technical development, and process optimization.
Dr. Wei brings more than 25 years of biotechnology manufacturing and technical operations experience, particularly in biologics process development and commercialization.
Immediately prior to joining Korsana, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Technical Operations at Zenas BioPharma.
Earlier leadership positions include senior technical and operational roles at:
- Voyager Therapeutics
- TESARO (later acquired by GSK)
- Shire Pharmaceuticals
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Momenta Pharmaceuticals
Throughout his career, Dr. Wei has led biologics manufacturing initiatives supporting product development, regulatory submissions, commercial production, and lifecycle management.
His expertise will play a critical role as Korsana advances KRSA-028 toward clinical manufacturing while preparing future pipeline candidates for development.
Dr. Wei earned his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and completed his undergraduate studies in Biochemical Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology.
Heidi Henson Joins Board of Directors
Korsana also announced the appointment of Heidi Henson to its Board of Directors, where she will chair the Audit Committee.
Ms. Henson has more than two decades of financial leadership experience within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, spanning both publicly traded and privately held organizations.
She currently serves on the boards of several biotechnology companies, including:
- Lisata Therapeutics
- PepGen Inc.
- Perspective Therapeutics
Most recently, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Pardes Biosciences, helping lead the company through its acquisition.
Earlier executive finance roles include CFO positions at:
- Imbria Pharmaceuticals
- Kura Oncology
- Wellspring Biosciences
- Araxes Pharma LLC
She began her professional career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where she gained extensive auditing experience supporting both public and private companies.
Ms. Henson earned her Bachelor of Accountancy degree from the University of San Diego.
Her financial governance expertise is expected to strengthen Korsana’s corporate oversight and support its evolution as a publicly traded biotechnology company.
Expanding a Pipeline for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Beyond KRSA-028, Korsana continues to leverage its proprietary THETA™ platform to develop additional therapies targeting neurodegenerative diseases.
Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other neurodegenerative disorders remain among the largest unmet medical challenges worldwide. Despite substantial scientific advances, many currently available treatments primarily manage symptoms rather than modifying disease progression.
Korsana’s strategy focuses on identifying therapies capable of addressing the underlying biological mechanisms responsible for neuronal degeneration, with the long-term objective of improving clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients.
Positioning for Long-Term Growth
With a strengthened executive leadership team, an advancing Alzheimer’s disease program, an expanding discovery platform, and a planned public company merger nearing completion, Korsana Biosciences is entering an important period of corporate growth.
The addition of experienced executives in clinical development, manufacturing, finance, and corporate governance provides the company with capabilities necessary to support increasingly complex clinical operations and future commercialization planning.
As KRSA-028 progresses toward first-in-human studies and additional pipeline programs continue to mature, Korsana aims to establish itself as a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing innovative therapies for patients affected by neurodegenerative diseases, where the need for effective treatment options remains substantial.
About Korsana Biosciences
Korsana Biosciences was founded to reduce the burden of neurodegenerative diseases for patients and caregivers. Developed in partnership with Paragon Therapeutics, Therapeutic Targeting (THETA™) is a novel blood-brain barrier-penetrant shuttle platform designed to enable dramatically higher drug concentration inside the brain and overcome the limitations of earlier shuttle technologies. Korsana is advancing a pipeline of innovative THETA-enabled therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, starting with KRSA-028 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, please visit www.korsana.com.