Slate Medicines Appoints Kenneth Koblan, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer
RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Slate Medicines Inc. (“Slate”), a clinical-stage biotechnology
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RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Slate Medicines Inc. (“Slate”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to advancing innovative new therapies that may broaden the treatment paradigm and potentially improve outcomes for people with migraine and other headache disorders, today announced the appointment of Kenneth Koblan, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Koblan brings more than three decades of experience in drug discovery and development, with deep expertise in neuroscience, translational medicine and novel therapeutics spanning multiple modalities.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Koblan as Chief Scientific Officer as we continue to expand our leadership team,” said Gregory Oakes, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Slate Medicines. “Ken’s ability to bridge discovery innovation and development excellence across multiple successful products and novel platforms demonstrates his deep understanding of what it takes to build and advance a world-class pipeline. His expertise in neuroscience and translational medicine will be particularly valuable as we advance SLTE-1009 and build our pipeline of innovative therapies for patients with migraine and other headache disorders.”
Dr. Koblan is a distinguished biopharmaceutical R&D leader with more than 30 years of experience across drug discovery and development. Prior to joining Slate, he served as Head of Research and Development at Vesalius Therapeutics. Previously, he spent 13 years at Sumitomo Pharma America (formerly Sunovion), where he served as Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Development Operations. There, he pioneered the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for rare disease modeling and cell-based therapeutics and led development programs for novel central nervous system medicines.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Koblan held senior scientific leadership positions at Merck Research Laboratories and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. At Merck, his work contributed to the development of important medicines including GARDASIL®, JANUVIA® and BELSOMRA®, the first approved orexin receptor antagonist. He also led the discovery of telcagepant and its backup compounds UBRELVY® and QULIPTA®, establishing clinical proof of concept for oral CGRP antagonism and helping pioneer the gepant class for migraine. At Alnylam, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer, he led the company’s “5×15” rare disease initiative and contributed to the development of ONPATTRO®, the first approved RNA-interference medicine.
Dr. Koblan was elected to the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in 2022 and has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 192 patent applications. He holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and a BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“I’ve spent my career advancing new therapeutic approaches from emerging biology toward medicines that can meaningfully change patient care,” said Dr. Koblan. “Slate’s work targeting the PACAP/VIP pathway represents an exciting opportunity to build on our understanding of neuropeptide biology and potentially advance the treatment of migraine beyond what is possible today. I look forward to working with the team to advance SLTE-1009 and build a pipeline of innovative medicines for patients with migraine and other headache disorders.”
About SLTE-1009
SLTE-1009 is a potential best-in-class monoclonal antibody in development for the preventive treatment of migraine. SLTE-1009 is designed to bind both PACAP and VIP, two neuropeptides with foundational roles in migraine pathophysiology, which may offer the potential for enhanced efficacy relative to PACAP-only targeting therapeutics through more complete neutralization of the PACAP/VIP pathway. SLTE-1009 was engineered with half-life extension to enable subcutaneous dosing and the potential for quarterly administration.
About Slate Medicines, Inc.
Slate Medicines is a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to advancing innovative new therapies that may broaden the treatment paradigm and potentially improve outcomes for people with migraine and other headache disorders. Slate is advancing a portfolio of potentially best-in-class therapeutics, led by SLTE-1009, a clinical-stage anti-PACAP/VIP monoclonal antibody designed to enable subcutaneous, infrequent dosing. For more information, please visit the Slate Medicines website.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “projects,” “plans,” and “future” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning the potential of SLTE-1009 and Slate’s other product candidates to expand treatment options for migraine and other headache disorders and Slate’s research, development and regulatory plans for its product candidates. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute guarantees of future performance, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation, risks with respect to: the ability of Slate to retain, attract and hire key personnel; the potential failure to identify additional product candidates and develop or commercialize marketable products; the early stage of Slate’s development efforts; potential unforeseen events during clinical trials could cause delays or other adverse consequences; risks relating to the regulatory approval process; interim, topline and preliminary data may change as more patient data become available, and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data; Slate’s product candidates may cause serious adverse side effects; inability to maintain existing or future collaborations, or the failure of these collaborations; Slate’s reliance on third parties, including for the manufacture of materials for research programs, preclinical and clinical studies; failure to obtain U.S. or international marketing approval; ongoing regulatory obligations; effects of significant competition; unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives; product liability lawsuits; securities class action litigation; the impact of general economic conditions on their respective business and operations, including Slate’s preclinical studies and clinical trials; the possibility of system failures or security breaches; and risks relating to intellectual property. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Slate disclaims any obligation to update these statements except as may be required by law.
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