Sail Biomedicines Welcomes Dr. Laura Sepp-Lorenzino to Its Board of Directors
Sail Biomedicines, Inc., a pioneering biotechnology company at the forefront of programmable RNA-based medicines and a Flagship Pioneering-founded enterprise, today announced the appointment of Laura Sepp-Lorenzino, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino’s extensive track record in drug discovery, translational science, and nucleic acid therapeutics will play a key role in guiding Sail’s next phase of growth, as the company prepares to enter clinical development with its first drug candidate.
This announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Sail Biomedicines, which is leveraging its proprietary Endless RNA™ (eRNA™) technology platform and innovative nanoparticle-based delivery systems to unlock a new class of programmable medicines. With the support of artificial intelligence to accelerate its discovery and development pipeline, Sail is building a future in which RNA-based therapeutics can be precisely tailored to address a wide spectrum of diseases with greater efficacy, safety, and scalability than previously imagined.
Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino brings over 30 years of scientific leadership and executive management across the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. Her work has been instrumental in shaping the trajectory of nucleic acid-based therapeutics—a field that has gained tremendous momentum in recent years with the success of RNA interference (RNAi), mRNA vaccines, and CRISPR-based gene editing. Her insights will be particularly valuable as Sail begins the transition from discovery-stage innovation to clinical-stage execution.
A Career at the Forefront of Therapeutic Innovation
Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino currently serves as Executive Vice President and Scientific Advisor at Intellia Therapeutics, where she was previously the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Intellia is a leader in in vivo CRISPR genome editing and one of the first companies to demonstrate human proof-of-concept using systemic delivery of CRISPR-based therapeutics. During her tenure as CSO, she played a central role in advancing Intellia’s platform and therapeutic programs through preclinical and clinical milestones.
Beyond her current role at Intellia, Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino maintains a strong presence across the biotechnology ecosystem. She is a member of the Board of Directors at Taysha Gene Therapies, a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on monogenic diseases of the central nervous system, and sits on the board of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, a global advocacy organization that represents the cell and gene therapy sector. Additionally, she holds editorial positions on the boards of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics and Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, both of which are key scientific journals in the field of gene and RNA medicine.
Her strategic insights are further sought in her advisory roles. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards (SABs) of Thermo Fisher Scientific, Arsenal Capital Partners, and the Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator (NATA), a UK-based initiative aimed at catalyzing innovation in the discovery and translation of nucleic acid-based drugs.
Deep Roots in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics
Before joining Intellia, Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino held several leadership roles at prominent biotech and pharmaceutical companies with a strong focus on RNA and nucleic acid medicines. She was Vice President and Head of Nucleic Acid Therapies at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she guided the company’s early foray into this therapeutic class. Prior to Vertex, she served as Vice President and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, one of the first and most influential companies in the RNAi space, where she helped chart strategies for next-generation delivery and pipeline innovation.
Her most longstanding tenure was at Merck & Co., where she spent over 14 years in roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in the position of Executive Director of RNA Therapeutics. During her time at Merck, she led multidisciplinary teams in discovery, platform development, and translational medicine, establishing a foundation that contributed to Merck’s broader nucleic acid strategy.
Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino earned her professional degree in Biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and went on to receive both her Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Biochemistry from New York University. Her academic and professional trajectory reflects a consistent commitment to scientific excellence and a passion for developing transformative therapies that can improve lives.
Guiding Sail into a New Era of Programmable Medicines
The addition of Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino to Sail’s Board of Directors comes as the company is entering a new phase of operational maturity. With its first drug candidate nomination recently announced, Sail is now preparing for IND-enabling studies and the initiation of clinical trials. The company’s programmable medicines platform—powered by eRNA™ and next-generation lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)—is designed to deliver highly specific, tunable RNA payloads to a broad array of tissues with precision.
This modular platform, when coupled with AI-driven design, allows Sail to generate and iterate therapeutic constructs at unprecedented speed. The approach opens new possibilities not only in rare and genetic diseases but also in oncology, infectious diseases, and other complex therapeutic areas where RNA medicines may offer unique advantages over traditional modalities.
Sail’s vision is rooted in the belief that RNA therapeutics can go far beyond existing paradigms. Where most RNA platforms rely on transient expression or immunogenic delivery, eRNA™ offers a fundamentally different paradigm—one that combines persistence with programmability, potentially enabling sustained therapeutic effects with finely tuned control. This ambition makes Sail a standout among next-generation RNA therapeutics companies.
Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino’s appointment reflects a deliberate and strategic move by Sail’s leadership to fortify its governance and scientific guidance as it transitions into the clinic. Her appointment brings not only technical acumen but also organizational perspective—having led teams through the challenges of platform maturation, regulatory strategy, and early clinical execution.
As Sail Biomedicines continues its journey, the expertise of its board will be instrumental in navigating the complex landscape of clinical development, regulatory approval, and eventual commercialization. In Dr. Sepp-Lorenzino, Sail gains a trusted scientific voice, a mentor for its R&D teams, and a thought partner in bringing a new generation of programmable RNA medicines to the patients who need them most.
