Flare Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has appointed Douglas Manion, M.D., FRCP (C), as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
 
Manion brings over two decades of experience in pharmaceutical research and development, having held leadership roles across several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He succeeds interim CEO Abbie Celniker, Ph.D., a partner at Third Rock Ventures, who will continue to serve as Chair of the Company’s Board of Directors.
 
“There has been rapid growth at FlareTx since the company was launched and I am excited for this opportunity to lead such an exceptional and cross-functional team as we advance FX-909 toward clinical proof of concept data in the second half of this year and fully recognize the potential of our discovery engine as we seek to change the paradigm in drugging transcription factors,” said Manion. “I share in the team’s vision to rapidly transform this novel science into approved medicines for people with cancer and other diseases.”

Experience

Manion joins Flare Therapeutics from Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., where he was President and Chief Executive Officer. Before that, he was Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he oversaw all research and development activities until its acquisition by Pfizer Inc. Manion joined Arena after serving as Chief Executive Officer of Kleo Pharmaceuticals, a private immuno-oncology company, from 2017 until its acquisition by Biohaven Holdings in January 2021.
 
Previously, Manion was Senior Vice President, Head of Specialty Development and Head of R&D Japan and China at Bristol-Myers Squibb. During his 11-year tenure at BMS, he held leadership roles overseeing global clinical research, clinical development, pharmacovigilance and biostatistics, across various therapeutic areas, including virology, immunology, neurology, cardiology, metabolic diseases, genetically-defined diseases and fibrosis.
 
Manion’s previous biopharmaceutical experience includes progressive leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, and DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and completed an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada followed by post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.