Pencil Biosciences, a biotech company pioneering a new class of gene editor, today announced the appointment of Jonathan Thon, PhD, as the new Chair of its Board of Directors. The company's novel platform, which offers "break-free editing” and versatile, unrestricted gene targeting, is designed to overcome limitations in access and off-target modifications of existing technologies to enable the next generation of gene editing therapies.

“Jonathan brings a rare and powerful combination of deep scientific expertise and proven strategic leadership,” said Amanda Smith, DPhil, CEO of Pencil Biosciences. “His background in founding and scaling biotech ventures, navigating technical complexity, and securing funding makes him exceptionally qualified to guide our trajectory at this pivotal time. I'm confident his stewardship will help translate and accelerate our technical ambition into real-world success and impact for patients.”

Dr. Thon is a serial biotech entrepreneur and scientific leader with extensive experience in cell and gene therapy, and a proven record of translating innovative science into high-growth companies. He was the Founder and CEO of STRM.BIO, where he pioneered an in vivo gene delivery platform for hematopoietic stem cells. He previously co-founded Stellular Bio (formerly Platelet BioGenesis), which advanced the first scalable technology for producing functional human platelets from iPSCs. Over the course of his career, Dr. Thon has helped secure more than $160 million in funding from investors, foundations, and government agencies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, NIH, BARDA, and ARPA-H. He began his career in academia as an Assistant Professor at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, following a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of British Columbia and postdoctoral training in hematology at Harvard.

“I’m excited to join Pencil Biosciences at this pivotal stage in its evolution, as they are well-positioned to realize the value of their next-generation gene editor,” said Dr. Thon. “Developing a gene editing platform completely from scratch was a bold move with tremendous opportunity and impact. Seeing it pay off and building on this next stage of success will be very rewarding. I look forward to working closely with the Board, Amanda, and the leadership team at Pencil to bring this technology and the transformative therapies it enables to patients.”

About Pencil Biosciences

Pencil Biosciences is pioneering the next generation of gene editing through the development of a synthetic platform designed to overcome the limitations of current technologies. The platform is modular, non-CRISPR in nature, able to edit without causing a DNA break, and significantly smaller than CRISPR-based gene editing technologies, expanding what’s possible in therapeutics and cell line engineering. The company’s platform has broad potential across cancer, genetic and rare diseases, infectious diseases, and beyond, with applications spanning human health, diagnostics, and agriculture. Pencil is backed by Octopus Ventures, Northern Gritstone, Catapult Ventures, Martlet Capital, and Meltwind.

To learn more about Pencil Biosciences, please visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn.

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