Diagonal Therapeutics Appoints Industry Veteran Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., M.B.A., as Chair of the Board of Directors

Dr. Bender brings a proven track record in therapeutic development, company evolution, and strategic execution to help guide Diagonal’s continued pipeline progress

Diagonal is advancing a portfolio of multispecific clustering antibodies that restore normal receptor signaling to enable development of disease-modifying therapies, including DIAG723, currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia

WATERTOWN, Mass., Oct. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diagonal Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering multispecific clustering antibodies to address the root causes of serious diseases, today announced the appointment of Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., M.B.A., as Chair of its Board of Directors, succeeding Michael Gladstone, who will continue to serve on the Board. Dr. Bender brings over 20 years of drug development experience and company leadership to Diagonal Therapeutics.

“Jeremy is an accomplished biotechnology leader, who most recently steered Day One Biopharmaceuticals from an early clinical-stage biotech through its first successful commercial launch. We are thrilled to welcome him as Board Chair of Diagonal,” said Alex Lugovskoy, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Diagonal. “Jeremy’s drug development experience in rare disease, deep operational expertise, and track record across strategic business development will be invaluable as we continue to advance clinical development of our lead program, DIAG723, which represents a potentially transformative, disease-modifying therapeutic for people impacted by hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We’re extremely grateful to Michael Gladstone for his service as Diagonal’s founding Chair. Michael’s leadership has been fundamental in establishing Diagonal’s position as a leader in clustering antibody technology and driving the significant progress we have achieved across our pipeline. We look forward to his continued contributions as a Board member.”

Diagonal is currently enrolling patients in DIAMOND, a Phase 1/2 multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating DIAG723 in people living with HHT, a rare, serious genetic vascular disorder. The DIAMOND trial will include a multidose Phase 2 cohort (Part C) in people with HHT and concomitant PAH to assess safety and exploratory effects on HHT- and pulmonary-related measures.

“Diagonal’s approach is straightforward and powerful – identify diseases caused by loss-of-function alterations and design antibody therapeutics that seek to activate and restore function through direct binding to altered proteins. This differs from other approaches, which aim to compensate indirectly for loss of function by inhibiting downstream components,” said Dr. Bender. “I look forward to working with Alex, the Diagonal management team, and my fellow board members as we harness this novel science to address the root cause of disease for patients in need.”

Dr. Bender most recently served as Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of the board of directors of Day One Biopharmaceuticals from 2020 to 2026 where he led the company’s evolution into a commercial-stage oncology company, including the approval and launch of OJEMDA^® for pediatric low-grade glioma and the company’s acquisition by Servier in 2026. Before Day One, he served as Vice President of Corporate Development at Gilead Sciences. Earlier in his career, Dr. Bender held executive leadership positions at Tizona Therapeutics (Chief Operating Officer), Sutro Biopharma (Chief Business Officer) and Allos Therapeutics (Vice President of Corporate Development), where he led corporate strategy, business development and operational execution. He began his career in the life sciences practice at Boston Consulting Group. Dr. Bender currently serves on the board of directors of Aura Biosciences, Bicara Therapeutics and Mereo BioPharma Group plc, and previously served on the board of Fusion Pharmaceuticals. He holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

About Diagonal Therapeutics

Diagonal Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering multispecific clustering antibodies, a new class of biologics designed to address the root causes of serious diseases. Our clustering antibodies, derived from our proprietary DIAGONAL Product Engine, are designed to restore normal signaling by assembling receptors in the precise geometry required for activation in diseases that arise from deficient signaling pathways. Our lead product candidate, DIAG723, is a bispecific clustering antibody designed to restore normal activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) signaling, which is deficient in both hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). For more information, please visit www.diagonaltx.com.

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