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Orchard Therapeutics Announces Departure of Chief Commercial OfficerBOSTON and LONDON, Sept. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orchard Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ORTX), a leading commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with serious and life-threatening rare diseases through innovative gene therapies, today announced that chief commercial officer Jason Meyenburg is leaving the company effective today to take on a chief executive role in the industry. In the interim Mark Rothera, the company’s president and chief executive officer, will assume global commercial leadership responsibilities. Mr. Rothera has driven the transition of multiple emerging biotechnology companies from R&D stage to commercialization, with a special focus on bringing novel therapies to market for patients with rare diseases, having launched seven orphan drugs over the course of his 30-year career in the biopharmaceutical industry. Orchard has initiated a global search for Mr. Meyenburg’s permanent replacement. “On behalf of the company, I would like to thank Jason for his contributions to Orchard over the past 18 months,” said Mark Rothera, president and chief executive officer. “I am especially grateful for the strong team Jason has assembled to execute on Orchard’s commercial strategy.” Mr. Rothera added, “Orchard’s global commercial leadership team includes best-in-class leaders in the U.S. and EMEA, positioning us well for several future potential gene therapy launches, particularly in the areas of market access preparation and the development of patient diagnostic pathways.” “I’m proud to have helped Mark and the team at Orchard build a robust commercial organization,” said Jason Meyenburg, departing chief commercial officer. “Implementation of the company’s global launch readiness plan is on track, and I look forward to following the company’s success as it works toward bringing one-time, potentially curative gene therapies to patients with devastating, often-fatal rare diseases.” About Orchard Orchard’s portfolio of ex vivo, autologous, hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) based gene therapies includes Strimvelis®, a gammaretroviral vector-based gene therapy and the first such treatment approved by the European Mediines Agency for severe combined immune deficiency due to adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA-SCID). Additional programs for neurometabolic disorders, primary immune deficiencies and hemoglobinopathies are all based on lentiviral vector-based gene modification of autologous HSCs and include three advanced registrational studies for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), ADA-SCID and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), clinical programs for X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT), as well as an extensive preclinical pipeline. Strimvelis, as well as the programs in MLD, WAS and TDT were acquired by Orchard from GSK in April 2018 and originated from a pioneering collaboration between GSK, Fondazione Telethon and Ospedale San Raffaele initiated in 2010. Orchard currently has offices in the U.K. and the U.S., including London, San Francisco and Boston. Forward-Looking Statements Other risks and uncertainties faced by Orchard include those identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in Orchard’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 22, 2019, as well as subsequent filings and reports filed with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect Orchard’s views as of the date hereof, and Orchard does not assume and specifically disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. Contacts Investors Media |