Meet Mahesh Karande

Mahesh has led Omega Therapeutics since 2019, guiding the company’s work in controlled epigenomic modulation and programmable mRNA therapeutics. Under his leadership, Omega has advanced a new class of medicines known as epigenomic controllers, designed to regulate gene expression without altering DNA sequences.

Omega has reported preliminary clinical data showing epigenomic controller-mediated pre-transcriptional control of MYC expression, a historically difficult oncology target. More recently, the company established a research collaboration with Novo Nordisk to explore precision epigenomic control as a new approach to obesity management. Together, these milestones show how Omega is applying programmable epigenomic control across disease areas, from cancer to metabolic disease.

“Despite great strides in various therapeutic areas, many of the tools in a healthcare provider’s toolbox are limited to managing the symptoms of a disease or treating the disease at a cost of burdensome side effects. Our growing understanding of the human genome and how gene expression is regulated gives us the unprecedented opportunity to engineer new solutions to address the root cause of many diseases. It is my hope and goal to see epigenomic controllers approved and used successfully to treat patients. In my eyes, such a milestone would complete the pioneering journey I started when I joined Omega Therapeutics in 2019.”