Cambridge, Mass. — Rectify Pharmaceuticals has appointed Constantine Chinoporos Executive Chairman of its board of directors as the biotechnology company transitions into a clinical-stage organization.
Chinoporos brings more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical leadership experience across business development, corporate strategy and commercialization. His appointment follows the initiation of a Phase 1 study of RTY-406, Rectify’s lead clinical program for hepatobiliary diseases.
Rectify is developing Positive Functional Modulators, or PFMs, a class of oral small molecules designed to restore and enhance membrane protein function. The company aims to develop treatments that address the underlying causes of serious diseases rather than only managing symptoms.
“With RTY-406 having recently entered the clinic, Rectify is now poised to positively impact patients suffering from hepatobiliary diseases, which is an area of tremendous unmet need,” Chinoporos said. “Given its unique dual mechanism of action, RTY-406 offers the potential for disease modifying therapy for hepatobiliary diseases, including primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Additional PFM programs in our pipeline also offer the opportunity to impact a variety of disease areas beyond the liver, as highlighted by our strategic research and licensing agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to accelerate the development of treatments for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other conditions. I am honored to join at this pivotal time, and I look forward to leveraging my background and years of biopharmaceutical experience to help write the next chapter for Rectify.”
Jason Rhodes, a board member and former Chairman of the Board of Directors, said Chinoporos’ experience in hepatobiliary diseases and other therapeutic areas would support the company’s next stage of development.
“Constantine is a proven industry leader in the hepatobiliary space and beyond who will drive Rectify forward working closely with the management team and board. We are excited to welcome him to the company,” Rhodes said.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the incredible team that has pioneered the discovery and development of small molecule PFMs and the successful transition we’ve made to a clinical stage organization as validated by the start of the Phase 1 trial with RTY-406,” said Rajesh Devraj, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rectify Pharmaceuticals. “In this next phase of growth, as we drive towards clinical data in PSC and hepatobiliary diseases, I can think of no better addition to our team than Constantine.”
Chinoporos previously served as Chief Business Officer of Albireo Pharmaceuticals until its acquisition by Ipsen in 2023. He currently serves as interim Chief Business Officer at enGene.
He also served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Business Officer at Applied Therapeutics until its acquisition by Cycle Pharmaceuticals in 2026. Earlier in his career, he was Chief Business Officer at Boston Pharmaceuticals and held senior leadership positions at Sanofi, Genzyme and Eli Lilly.
Chinoporos serves on the Board of Directors of Geron Corporation. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Elektrofi and chaired its Compensation Committee until the company was acquired by Halozyme Therapeutics in 2025.
He holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a B.A. in History from Cornell University.
RTY-406 is an orally administered, dual-targeted PFM designed to modulate the ABCB4 and BSEP membrane proteins. It is being developed as a potential treatment for primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC.
The drug’s dual mechanism is intended to address abnormal bile composition and reduced bile flow, two underlying drivers of PSC. In a preclinical PSC model, RTY-406 demonstrated activity across disease-related measures including inflammation, cholangitis, cholestasis and fibrosis.
Rectify said RTY-406 could potentially be developed across multiple hepatobiliary diseases and become a first-in-class disease-modifying treatment for PSC.
