Jade Biosciences Appoints Edward R. Conner, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer
SAN FRANCISCO and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jade Biosciences, Inc. (“Jade” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: JBIO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing best-in-class therapies for autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of Edward R. Conner, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO), effective today.
Dr. Conner is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with extensive experience spanning clinical development, translational medicine, regulatory strategy and mechanism-based drug development, across early- to late-stage programs. As Chief Medical Officer, he will lead Jade’s clinical and medical organization, overseeing development strategy and data generation to support the advancement of the Company’s differentiated pipeline of potentially disease-modifying therapies for autoimmune diseases.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ed to Jade at such a pivotal moment for our pipeline,” said Tom Frohlich, Chief Executive Officer of Jade Biosciences. “Ed is a highly respected leader with a proven track record of advancing innovative therapies and building high-performing clinical organizations. His deep expertise across immunology and translational medicine will be instrumental as we execute on key upcoming milestones, including delivering interim, biomarker-rich Phase 1 data for JADE101, initiating our Phase 2 trial in IgA nephropathy and advancing JADE201 and JADE301 into the clinic. We are also pleased to expand Dr. Andrew King’s role to President of R&D, reflecting the broad and strategic leadership he provides across our research and development organization.”
Dr. Conner joins Jade from Ardelyx, Inc. where he served as CMO. Prior to Ardelyx, he was CMO of Third Harmonic Bio and previously served as CMO of Locanabio. Earlier, he served as Site Lead and Division Head of Medical and Development for Astellas Gene Therapies (formerly Audentes Therapeutics). Prior to Astellas’ acquisition of Audentes, he was CMO and Senior Vice President of Audentes Therapeutics, where he led clinical development and operations, medical affairs, regulatory, drug safety and patient advocacy. Before Audentes, Dr. Conner served as CMO of Sangamo Therapeutics. Earlier in his career, he was a Medical Director at Genentech, Inc. (a member of the Roche Group), where he led clinical development programs for XOLAIR®* (omalizumab) in chronic urticaria and allergic asthma.
“Jade has assembled a compelling portfolio of potentially best-in-class, disease-modifying autoimmune therapies, underpinned by rigorous target biology and focused on areas of significant unmet need,” said Dr. Conner. “I look forward to working with the team to bring these therapies to patients as efficiently as possible.”
Dr. Conner received his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Michigan and a fellowship in clinical immunology and allergic diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He holds a B.S. in biology from Duke University.
About Jade Biosciences, Inc.
Jade Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing best-in-class therapies that address critical unmet needs in autoimmune diseases. Jade’s lead candidate, JADE101, targets the cytokine APRIL, and is currently being evaluated for the treatment of immunoglobulin A nephropathy. Jade’s pipeline also includes JADE201, an afucosylated anti-BAFF-R monoclonal antibody, as well as JADE301, an undisclosed antibody candidate. Jade was launched based on assets licensed from Paragon Therapeutics, an antibody discovery engine founded by Fairmount. For more information, visit JadeBiosciences.com and follow the Company on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication, other than purely historical information, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including for purposes of the “safe harbor” provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied statements relating to Jade’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future of its pipeline and business including, without limitation, Jade’s ability to achieve the expected benefits or opportunities with respect to JADE101, JADE201 and JADE301; the expected timeline for interim Phase 1 data for JADE101; plans for future clinical trials, including the expected timelines for initiation of the Phase 2 clinical trial of JADE 101 and clinical trials of JADE201 and JADE301; the potential of Jade’s product candidates to become best-in-class therapies and their potential therapeutic uses. The words “opportunity,” “potential,” “milestones,” “pipeline,” “can,” “goal,” “strategy,” “target,” “anticipate,” “achieve,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “plan,” “possible,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions (including the negatives of these terms or variations of them) may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Jade will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond Jade’s control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks that the Phase 1 clinical trial of JADE101, the planned Phase 2 clinical trial of JADE101, the planned clinical trials of JADE201 and JADE301 and any other future trials may be delayed or may not demonstrate desirable efficacy; adverse events and safety signals may occur; Jade may experience unanticipated costs, difficulties or delays in the product development process; Jade’s product candidates may fail in development, may not receive required regulatory approvals, or may be delayed to a point where they are not commercially viable; enrollment or regulatory challenges; risks associated with Jade’s dependence on third-party vendors for the development, manufacture and supply of its product candidates; and the other risks, uncertainties and factors more fully described in Jade’s most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Jade’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements in this communication, which speak only as of the date they are made and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the cautionary statements herein. Jade does not undertake or accept any duty to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. This communication does not purport to summarize all of the conditions, risks and other attributes of an investment in Jade.
Jade Biosciences Contact
Priyanka Shah
Media@JadeBiosciences.com
IR@JadeBiosciences.com
908-447-6134
*XOLAIR® is a registered trademark of Novartis AG.
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