Veteran biotech leader from Dyne, Sarepta, Intra-Cellular, Roche and Pfizer joins Pretzel to accelerate first-in-class bioenergetics pipeline

Pretzel Therapeutics, a leader in harnessing cellular energetics to develop novel treatments for a range of conditions spanning neurological, muscle, metabolic and rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Ashish Dugar, Ph.D., MBA as Chief Development Officer (CDO). Dr. Dugar joins Pretzel with nearly 25 years of industry experience across clinical development, medical affairs and commercial leadership roles, most recently at Dyne Therapeutics where he oversaw global medical affairs for rare neuromuscular diseases.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ash to Pretzel as our Chief Development Officer overseeing clinical strategy and execution across our growing pipeline from early-stage development through clinical trials and regulatory submission,” said Jay Parrish, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Pretzel. “His proven expertise, particularly within the areas of genetically driven, rare, neurologic and degenerative muscle diseases, will be invaluable as we advance our pipeline of first-in-class treatments addressing novel targets within the mitochondria.”

“Pretzel’s approach to modulating disease processes to improve survival, function and quality of life for individuals impacted by a breadth of conditions spanning neurological, muscle, metabolic and rare disease is truly unique,” said Ashish Dugar. “I am especially excited to join the team at such a pivotal time in its growth with clinical development recently initiated for PX578 targeting mitochondrial DNA polymerase (POLG) across primary mitochondrial disorders (PMD) including mitochondrial DNA depletion syndromes (MDDS) and broader neurodegenerative disease. The foundational work published in Nature this year by Pretzel and our collaborators, which demonstrated the potential of POLG activation to restore mitochondrial function across a spectrum of disease-causing mutations, underscores the transformative potential of Pretzel’s science and its strategic direction.”

Ashish (“Ash”) Dugar brings over 20 years of broad industry experience and has launched several drugs for rare and serious conditions. Prior to joining Pretzel, he served as Chief Medical Affairs Officer at Dyne Therapeutics, where he guided rare neuromuscular disease programs across multiple therapeutic areas. Previously, Dr. Dugar served as Vice President and Global Head of Medical affairs at Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., Vice President and Head of Commercial Development at Intra-Cellular Therapies, Global Head of Clinical Development Science and Innovation at Roche and Vice President, Global Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs of the biosimilars business unit at Pfizer Inc. Dr. Dugar began his career at the National Institutes of Health. He completed a pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, earned an MBA from The Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in pharmacology from The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.