Durham-based Biocryst appoints rare disease expert to board

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Durham-based company focused on rare disease drug development, has appointed clinical rare disease expert, Dr. Helen Thackray, to its board of directors.

Dr. Thackray currently serves as chief medical officer and senior vice president of clinical development at GlycoMimetics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a novel pipeline of orphan drug candidates to address unmet needs for patients.

She joined GlycoMimetics in 2006, and leads their orphan product, fast track, and breakthrough therapy programs at all stages of development in rare diseases.

Prior to joining GlycoMimetics, Dr. Thackray was vice president of clinical development at Biosynexus, and served for over a decade on the research ethics review board of the National Center for Healthcare Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

She is a board-certified pediatrician, practicing and serving on the faculty of the Children’s National Medical Center and George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences from 2000-2019.  Dr. Thackray has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and presentations.

“As a physician and chief medical officer, Helen adds important, complementary and contemporary clinical rare disease experience to our board as Biocryst prepares to launch oral BCX7353 to patients next year, and advances our multiple clinical rare disease programs,” Robert Ingram, chairman of Biocryst, said in a statement.

Dr. Thackray holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences from Stanford University, and an M.D. from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.  She completed her pediatric residency and chief residency at Children’s National Medical Center, trained in medical genetics at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP).

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