Imara Strengthens Board of Directors With Appointment of Edward R. Conner, M.D.

Industry leader with global clinical development expertise to help guide Imara’s clinical advancement

Imara also announces departure of Chief Medical Officer, Willem Scheele

BOSTON, April 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imara Inc. (Nasdaq: IMRA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel therapeutics to treat patients suffering from rare inherited genetic disorders of hemoglobin, today announced the appointment of Edward R. Conner, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Conner has more than 15 years of global leadership experience overseeing clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas and rare diseases. Dr. Conner will replace James McArthur, Ph.D., who is stepping down from the Board of Directors.

“We are fortunate to have the benefit of Ed’s clinical leadership expertise and insights on our Board,” said David M. Mott, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Imara. “His proven experience across late-stage, rare disease clinical development and operations globally will serve Imara well as we continue to advance IMR-687 for patients suffering from sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. The relevant clinical expertise of our Board will be invaluable as we seek to initiate and execute our Phase 2b/3 programs and ultimately work toward making this potentially transformative therapy available to patients.”

Mr. Mott added, “We also thank James McArthur for his service to Imara as a founder, former CEO and, most recently, as an important Board member. He has made immense contributions to the Company and the Board wishes him well.”

Dr. Conner currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Audentes Therapeutics, An Astellas Company, where he is responsible for leading the global clinical development strategy and oversees clinical development, clinical operations, regulatory affairs, medical affairs and patient advocacy. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc., where he led the clinical development of the company’s pipeline of genomic therapies. Prior to Sangamo, he served in senior clinical and medical leadership positions at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., and Genentech, Inc., where he oversaw the clinical development of multiple late-stage clinical programs in both rare and broader disease areas. Dr. Conner completed his Internal Medicine residency training at the University of Michigan and was a fellow in Clinical Immunology and Allergic Diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He earned a B.S. in Biology, cum laude, from Duke University and his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco.