Sail Biomedicines, a Flagship Pioneering company and leader in RNA-based programmable medicines, today announced that Martin Mackay, Ph.D., has joined its Board of Directors. Mackay is a globally recognized biopharmaceutical leader with more than three decades of executive experience driving drug discovery and development at some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
“Martin’s appointment to our Board comes at an important moment for Sail, as he has guided the development of transformative medicines across therapeutic areas and guided companies from early innovation through commercialization,” said John Mendlein, Ph.D., Executive Chair of Sail Biomedicines and Executive Partner, Flagship Pioneering. “His depth of experience leading global R&D organizations will be invaluable as we advance our vanguard in vivo CAR-T program to the clinic for autoimmune disease patients in 2026 and harness the full potential of our Endless RNA and programmable targeted nanoparticles to treat disease in entirely new ways.”
“Sail is charting a new course for medicine, where RNA and delivery systems are becoming programmable components that can be engineered with precision,” said Mackay. “By integrating eRNA, targeted nanoparticles, and AI, Sail created a platform that redefines how medicines are designed and delivered. Sail’s in vivo CAR-T program demonstrates the power of this integration, with the potential to bring a best-in-class transformative treatment for autoimmune disease patients in a more accessible way. I am honored to join the Board at this pivotal stage and to support Sail as it advances its CD19 in vivo CAR-T program to the clinic.”
After a number of years at large pharmaceutical companies, Mackay co-founded and is Board Chair of Rallybio, a publicly traded biotechnology company developing treatments for patients with devastating ultra-rare diseases. Previously, he served as President and Head of R&D at AstraZeneca. Prior to that, he spent more than 15 years at Pfizer, culminating as President and Head of Pharmatherapeutics R&D, where he led worldwide discovery, development, and technology functions. Mackay was also Executive Vice President and Head of R&D at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, overseeing a portfolio of 60 programs across hematology, neurology, nephrology, and other therapeutic areas.
In addition to his role at Rallybio, Mackay serves on the Boards of Directors of Novo Nordisk and Charles River Laboratories, where he is Lead Independent Director. He previously served on the Board of SpringWorks Therapeutics through its acquisition by Merck KGaA in 2025.
About Sail Biomedicines
Sail Biomedicines is pioneering a new class of medicines based on Endless RNA™ (eRNA™) and targeted nanoparticles (TNPs) to provide meaningful therapeutic outcomes for patients. Sail’s vanguard in vivo CAR-T program uses a patented CD19 eRNA CAR payload and T-cell TNP. The first indications for this program are focused on autoimmune diseases, where deep, rapid B-cell depletion has curative potential. With Sail’s experimental data, our scientists use proprietary AI techniques to identify and design first-in-class and best-in-class therapeutics with a focus on modulating the immune system. Sail was founded by Flagship Pioneering. For more, visit www.sail.bio and follow us on X (@SailBiomeds) and LinkedIn.
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“Sail is charting a new course for medicine, where RNA and delivery systems are becoming programmable components that can be engineered with precision,” said Martin Mackay, Ph.D.
