Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc , the leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced the appointment of a veteran healthcare leader, Colleen Reitan, to Alnylam’s Board of Directors, effective June 1, 2018. Ms. Reitan was the prior President of Plan Operations of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the largest customer-owned health insurer in the United States and an independent licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
“We are thrilled to welcome Colleen to our Board at a turning point in Alnylam’s history. As we pivot towards commercialization, Colleen’s deep understanding of the healthcare payer landscape will provide an invaluable perspective to our Board,” said John Maraganore, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer of Alnylam. “We look forward to the insights Colleen will bring to the Board at this exciting moment in our journey to advance RNAi therapeutics for patients in need.”
“It’s a pleasure to join a company with such a strong sense of purpose and at the cusp of a transition from an R&D-focused organization to a commercial-stage organization with the capability to make innovative medicines available to underserved patients around the world,” said Colleen Reitan. “I hope to offer a unique perspective on Alnylam’s roadmap to commercialization, drawing from my experiences in the health insurance sector. Having a deep insight of payer perspective will be critical to Alnylam’s commercial strategy, and is something that has been a focal point of my career.”
Colleen Reitan is a seasoned corporate leader and board member. Prior to her role as President of Operations at HCSC, she served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Previously, Ms. Reitan served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and as a director on the boards of Prime Therapeutics, Availity, Federal Employee Board of Managers, and MEDecision.
About Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Alnylam is leading the translation of RNA interference (RNAi) into a whole new class of innovative medicines with the potential to transform the lives of people afflicted with rare genetic, cardio-metabolic, and hepatic infectious diseases. Based on Nobel Prize-winning science, RNAi therapeutics represent a powerful, clinically validated approach for the treatment of a wide range of severe and debilitating diseases. Founded in 2002, Alnylam is delivering on a bold vision to turn scientific possibility into reality, with a robust discovery platform and deep pipeline of investigational medicines, including four product candidates that are in late-stage development. Looking forward, Alnylam will continue to execute on its “Alnylam 2020” strategy of building a multi-product, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a sustainable pipeline of RNAi-based medicines to address the needs of patients who have limited or inadequate treatment options. Alnylam employs over 800 people in the U.S. and Europe and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more information about our people, science and pipeline, please visit www.alnylam.com
