Waltham, Mass. — Q32 Bio Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for alopecia areata and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, has appointed José Trevejo, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Ellie Hershberger, Pharm.D., as Chief Development Officer.
The appointments come as Q32 Bio prepares to advance bempikibart into a registration-directed program for severe or very severe alopecia areata and evaluates additional development opportunities in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
“José and Ellie join Q32 Bio at a pivotal moment as we transition into a late clinical stage company in line with our preparations to advance bempikibart into a registration-directed program for severe or very severe alopecia areata and continue to evaluate expansion opportunities in additional alopecia areata populations as well as other autoimmune and inflammatory indications,” said Jodie Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of Q32 Bio.
Dr. Trevejo brings more than 20 years of experience in biotechnology, dermatology, clinical pipeline strategy and late-stage clinical development. Before joining Q32 Bio, he served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Clinical Pipeline Strategy at Enveda Therapeutics, where he helped advance several clinical-stage candidates, including a Phase 2 candidate for atopic dermatitis.
Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, where he helped lead the FDA approval and launch of Xdemvy for Demodex blepharitis. He also served as Chief Development Officer at Rocket Pharmaceuticals and was Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SmartPharm Therapeutics.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Trevejo held clinical development leadership roles at Cyclerion Therapeutics, Visterra, Genentech and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
“Bempikibart has shown encouraging results in Part B of the SIGNAL-AA program in alopecia areata, demonstrating meaningful hair regrowth, early signs of durability in the off-drug period and a generally well-tolerated safety profile,” Dr. Trevejo said. “Based on the results to date, bempikibart has the potential to address key limitations of currently available therapies for alopecia areata.”
Dr. Hershberger brings more than 30 years of experience in drug development, including late-stage development operations and regulatory strategy.
Before joining Q32 Bio, she served as Chief Development Officer of Adagio Therapeutics, now Invivyd, where she led the development organization and advanced the company’s lead monoclonal antibody candidate from IND-enabling activities through Phase 3 development.
She previously served as Executive Director and Head of Clinical Research at Visterra and held senior clinical development roles at Merck and Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, she held clinical development positions at Pfizer and served as Director of the Clinical Research Center and Infectious Disease Laboratory at William Beaumont Hospital.
“This is an exciting time to join Q32 Bio,” Dr. Hershberger said. “I look forward to working with the team as we build on SIGNAL-AA and advance bempikibart into a registration-directed program in alopecia areata in the first half of 2027, and as we expand development into additional populations and indications.”
