Igor Splawski Joins Yarrow Biotechnology as Chief Scientific Officer: A Major Boost for CNS Gene Therapy Pipeline

Yarrow Biotechnology has secured a major leadership addition with the appointment of Dr. Igor Splawski as Chief Scientific Officer, marking a significant milestone for the RTW Investments-backed biotech focused on nucleic acid therapeutics for severe genetic disorders affecting the central nervous system.

Three Decades of Gene Therapy Innovation

Dr. Splawski brings heavyweight credentials to the role. Over the past 30 years, he has established himself as a key figure in genetic research and therapeutic development, with a track record that speaks volumes: his teams have advanced more than 20 compounds into human clinical trials, with 11 currently progressing through phases I to III.

His most recent role was at CureVac, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer and executive board member. There, he oversaw a 150-scientist team developing mRNA-based therapies and vaccines targeting infectious diseases, cancer, and rare indications—work that positioned him at the forefront of RNA therapeutics innovation.

Building Therapeutic Pipelines Across Modalities

Before CureVac, Splawski spent 15 years at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, where he directed the Biologics Center as Executive Director and site head. During this tenure, he managed a team of over 100 scientists dedicated to discovering and engineering antibody and protein-based therapeutics—expertise that complements Yarrow’s expanding focus beyond nucleic acids alone.

His earlier academic career at Harvard Medical School proved foundational: as an assistant professor, he identified novel genetic pathways underlying cardiac arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, muscle disorders, deafness, and autism—discoveries that shaped the field’s understanding of genetically defined disease mechanisms.

A Prolific Inventor and Scholar

The depth of Splawski’s contributions is reflected in his patent portfolio (28 patents to date) and published research record. His work has appeared in top-tier journals including Cell, Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Genetics, and PNAS—the gold standard venues for biomedical research.

His academic appointments have included positions at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, further underscoring his standing in the research community. He holds a PhD in Human Genetics from the University of Utah and an MSc in Biotechnology from Sofia University.

Strategic Significance for Yarrow

For Yarrow, this hire represents more than a personnel announcement—it signals the company’s ambition to tackle severe CNS disorders where current treatment options remain limited. Peter Fong, Yarrow’s CEO and a partner at RTW, emphasized that Splawski’s “deep expertise” in genetic testing, protein biologics, and RNA therapeutics will be “highly valuable” as Yarrow advances therapeutics for diseases with significant unmet medical need.

Splawski himself framed the move as an opportunity: “It is an honor to join the fantastic team at Yarrow and help bring transformative nucleic acid therapies to patients. Yarrow’s science is aiming to address the most urgent CNS diseases, many of which currently have suboptimal treatments and no cures.”

The appointment underscores how top-tier talent continues to gravitate toward focused biotech platforms addressing genetic disease—a trend that reflects both the maturation of RNA and nucleic acid technologies and the persistent clinical need in CNS indications.