ROME Therapeutics, Enara Bio, Nucleome Therapeutics and NYU Langone Health to Host 3rd Annual Dark Genome Symposium

Boston, Mass., Oxford, UK and New York – October 8, 2024 – ROME Therapeutics, Enara Bio, Nucleome Therapeutics, and NYU Langone Health will co-host the 3rd Annual Dark Genome Symposium on November 20 - 21, 2024 at NYU Langone Health in New York, NY. The annual symposium is designed to bring together leaders from academia, the biopharmaceutical industry and the investment community to highlight recent advances in dark genome-related research and drug development. Drug discovery historically has focused on just 2% of the human genome comprising protein-encoding genes. The remaining 98%, not traditionally associated with protein-encoding genes, is known as the dark genome and represents vast regions of underexplored biology and untapped therapeutic opportunity.

This year’s agenda will feature a world-class lineup of speakers and panelists who will discuss the latest research and progress in harnessing the dark genome to reveal novel druggable targets and advance new medicines to address unmet patient needs across therapeutic areas. The event will be organized around four main sessions that reflect the breadth of the dark genome field, including:

Wednesday, November 20^th

• Session 1: Engineering & Analyzing the Dark Genome

• Session 2: Non-Coding RNA & Epigenetics

Thursday, November 21^st

• Session 3: Retroelements in Autoimmunity & Neurodegeneration

• Session 4: Immuno-Oncology & the Dark Genome

This year’s symposium will feature a poster session with more than 30 poster presentations. The symposium’s keynote speaker will be Eddy Arnold, Ph.D., Board of Governors Professor and Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University. Groundbreaking work led by Dr. Arnold and his colleagues elucidating the structures of the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme helped drive the discovery of two approved drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. The elucidation of HIV RT enzyme biology has helped pave the way for a deeper understanding of the biology and therapeutic potential of dark genome-encoded reverse transcriptases, which are now an area of focus for Dr. Arnold and his lab.

“We’re excited by the growth of this premier dark genome-focused event, which underscores the tremendous interest and momentum in uncovering and translating dark genome biology to advance novel therapeutics to address high unmet patient needs,” said Heike Keilhack, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at ROME Therapeutics and Chair of the 3rd Annual Dark Genome Symposium’s Scientific Planning Committee. “I’d like to thank the members of this year’s Scientific Planning Committee for all of their efforts to create a dynamic agenda and assemble an outstanding, diverse group of speakers, panelists and poster presenters from academia and industry.”

Jef Boeke, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Langone Health, and a member of the Scientific Planning Committee, commented, “We’re thrilled to join ROME Therapeutics, Enara Bio and Nucleome Therapeutics in co-hosting the 3rd Annual Dark Genome Symposium. One of the hallmarks of this field has been the close collaboration among academics and industry colleagues who share a common belief in the immense potential of the dark genome to yield new approaches that can address some of our most profound medical challenges. We look forward to meeting in New York as we continue this exciting journey together.”

Registering for the 3rd Annual Dark Genome Symposium

Limited space is still available for in-person attendance. Virtual attendance via livestream is also available. Registration details and the complete agenda can be found at this year’s symposium website: http://www.TheDarkGenomeSymposium.com/2024.

Scientific Planning Committee Members

Gerd Blobel, MD, PhD The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Jef Boeke, PhD NYU Langone
Julie DiPaolo, PhD Johnson & Johnson Boston Innovation Center
Benjamin Greenbaum, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Stephen Harrison, PhD Nucleome Therapeutics
George Kassiotis, PhD The Francis Crick Institute
Heike Keilhack, PhD ROME Therapeutics
Ralf Leonhardt, PhD Boehringer Ingelheim
Sophie Papa, FRCP, PhD Enara Bio

About ROME Therapeutics

ROME Therapeutics is developing novel therapies for a range of serious diseases, including autoimmune disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration, by illuminating the role of the dark genome — the vast genomic expanse beyond the traditional genes, which includes virus-like repetitive elements and non-coding sequences — in human health and disease. Leveraging the company’s unprecedented data sciences platform, ROME has built a deep pipeline of therapies targeting the dark genome. To lead this exploration, ROME has assembled a team of world-class leaders in drug discovery and development across immunology, oncology, chemistry, and machine learning. ROME is based in Boston, Mass. For more information, please visit www.rometx.com.

3rd Annual Dark Genome Symposium and ROME Therapeutics Media Contacts:
Liz Melone
liz@melonecomm.com

Jessi Rennekamp
jessi@astriorcomms.com

About Enara Bio

Enara Bio is shining a light on Dark Antigen® and T-cell biology to develop cancer immunotherapies designed to improve treatment outcomes for broad populations of cancer patients. Our pioneering EDAPT® platform enables us to discover cancer-specific antigens from previously uncharted genomic ‘dark matter’. The result is a growing library of Dark Antigens that can address the need for novel, cancer-specific targets in solid tumors. Our internal focus is developing TCR-directed immunotherapies against Dark Antigen targets that are highly prevalent and homogenously expressed across solid tumors. Our partner, Boehringer Ingelheim, is combining multiple Dark Antigens to create off-the-shelf therapeutic cancer vaccines. Based in Oxford, UK, Enara Bio is backed by a strong syndicate of life science investors including RA Capital, Pfizer Ventures, M Ventures, Samsara BioCapital and SV Health Investors. For more information, visit: www.enarabio.com.

Enara Bio Contact
Kevin Pojasek, President & CEO
info@enarabio.com

About Nucleome Therapeutics www.nucleome.com

Nucleome was founded in 2019. The precision of its 3D genomics technology has the potential to improve drug discovery success rates both by discovering genetically validated medicines, and by more accurately identifying patients who are likely to benefit from treatments. Nucleome’s platform can be applied to multiple disease indications and cell types, with an initial focus on inflammatory conditions. The company is also forging external collaborations both in target discovery and validation, and in patient stratification. Nucleome was founded by leading experts in gene regulation from the University of Oxford. The Company is backed by a world-class syndicate of investors that includes M Ventures, the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA; Johnson and Johnson Innovation-JJDC, Inc. (“JJDC”), the strategic venture capital arm of Johnson & Johnson; Pfizer Ventures, the venture group of Pfizer; British Patient Capital; and founding investor Oxford Science Enterprises.

Nucleome Media Contact:
James Chandler
james.chandler@nucleome.com

NYU Langone Health

NYU Langone Health is a world-class, patient-centered, integrated academic medical center, with a culture rooted in excellence in patient care, education, and research. Vizient, Inc., has ranked NYU Langone the #1 comprehensive academic medical center in the country for three years in a row and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services across six inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 300 outpatient locations across the New York area and Florida. The system also includes two medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.

NYULH Media Contact:
Greg Williams
gregory.williams@nyulangone.org