- Mark Platt assumes role as full-time President and CEO of Makana Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Recombinetics
- Makana and Recombinetics merged their operations in 2020 to facilitate the mission of helping solve the nation’s organ donor crisis by advancing xenotransplantation technology
EAGAN, MN — January 18, 2022 — Recombinetics™ Inc., a global leader in the development, deployment, and commercialization of genetically engineered animals, announced today that Rocco Morelli has been named the company’s interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective immediately.
Morelli succeeds Mark Platt, who is assuming the role full-time as President and CEO of Makana Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Recombinetics and a leader in the field of xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation is the process of transplanting organs or tissues between members of different species into humans.
“These leadership changes at Makana and Recombinetics will help facilitate our combined mission of making xenotransplantation a reality,” Platt said. “Recombinetics and Makana have expertise and strong intellectual property positions in clinical organ transplantation, genetic engineering, reproductive technology, and xenotransplantation. The growth of these operations requires a full-time CEO dedicated to each business.”
Morelli, who has been consulting with Recombinetics for the past two years, has 30 years of commercial and operational leadership experience in healthcare, medical device, biotech and diagnostics industries. He has worked for global organizations such as Smith Medical, Spacelabs Healthcare and Ohio Medical (formerly a part of GE) and most recently as CEO at Ulisse Biomed. Morelli holds a B.B.A. from Loyola University of Chicago in Finance.
Platt has 34 years of experience in business and organizational leadership with strong background in manufacturing, engineering, hospital administration, sales, marketing and product development. He is the former President and CEO of Multistack, Senior Vice President and a member of the Board of Trustees at Gundersen Health System, and served as a Combat Engineering Officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University.
Platt said the Recombinetics Board of Directors is launching a search for a permanent CEO for the company.
About Makana Therapeutics
Founded in 2009, Makana Therapeutics is focused on developing swine with reduced xenoantigen expression, making human transplantation of cells, tissues and organs from these animals possible. Makana’s focus on simplified genetics, optimized pig cloning techniques and careful patient selection is expected to streamline product development and result in safer more efficacious products.
About Recombinetics
Founded in 2008, Recombinetics is a recognized global leader in the development, deployment, and commercialization of genetically engineered animals. Its four subsidiaries, Regenevida, Surrogen, Makana, and Acceligen, have delivered hundreds of animals to enable drug, device and therapeutic discovery, generate transplantable cells, tissues and organs, and provide improved health, well-being, and productivity in agricultural animals.