CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blueprint Medicines
Corporation (NASDAQ: BPMC) today announced that its Board of
Directors has appointed Kate
Haviland to succeed Jeff
Albers as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective
April 4, 2022. At that time, Mr.
Albers will transition from his current role as Chairman, President
and CEO to Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and Ms.
Haviland will transition from her current role as Chief Operating
Officer (COO) to President and CEO. In addition, Ms. Haviland will
be appointed to serve on the company's Board of Directors,
effective April 4, 2022.
Blueprint Medicines also announced today that Christina Rossi has been promoted from Chief
Commercial Officer to COO. In her new role, Ms. Rossi will retain
leadership of global commercial strategy and operations, and expand
her oversight to include portfolio strategy and program management,
corporate development, and corporate affairs, effective
April 4, 2022.
"Serving as CEO of Blueprint Medicines for the last eight years
has been the highlight of my career, and I'm immensely proud of all
that we've accomplished in our efforts to improve and extend the
lives of patients," said Jeff
Albers, Chairman, President and CEO of Blueprint Medicines.
"Today, Blueprint Medicines is a fully integrated, global company
delivering approved medicines to patients around the world. With a
foundation of R&D and commercial success and an exciting
pipeline of therapeutic candidates positioned to drive the
company's next phase of transformational growth, it is the right
time for me to transition leadership to Kate and our outstanding
executive team."
Mr. Albers continued, "I have known Kate for nearly two decades
and have valued her expertise and leadership throughout our time
working together at Blueprint Medicines. Since joining the company
six years ago, Kate has touched all aspects of our business and has
been a steadfast partner in charting the company's course through
both successes and setbacks. She is adept at identifying and
pursuing opportunities for growth and managing resource allocations
across our broad portfolio, while also driving a high-performance
culture anchored in transparency and a commitment to a diverse and
inclusive workforce."
"The Board's selection of Kate as our next CEO is the
culmination of a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process
that was led by Jeff and the Board and purposefully designed to
drive the company's continued success, ensure continuity, and
empower our strong executive team. Kate is an exceptional leader
with a clear and inspiring vision, demonstrated ability to lead and
execute an integrated business strategy, and deep commitment to our
patient-centric mission and culture of innovation. The Board is
confident in her ability to lead the company to reach its full
potential through our next phase of growth and beyond," said
Alexis Borisy, co-founder and member
of the Board of Directors of Blueprint Medicines. "On behalf of the
Board, I want to thank Jeff for his remarkable leadership as CEO.
During his tenure, the company has achieved tremendous success,
developing from a privately held preclinical enterprise into a
leading independent precision therapy company. It has been a
privilege to be part of the company's exponential growth, and I
look forward to working with Kate and Jeff as the company continues
to deliver important, innovative medicines to patients
globally."
"I am excited to become CEO of Blueprint Medicines as we build
on our success by advancing the ongoing commercial launch of
AYVAKIT® (avapritinib) in advanced systemic mastocytosis, achieving
a constellation of near-term clinical data milestones for multiple
therapeutic candidates, and expanding our portfolio with promising
new research programs that we believe will drive substantial growth
over the long term," said Kate
Haviland. "Blueprint Medicines was founded with a vision to
change the lives of patients who have received a devastating
diagnosis of cancer or hematologic disease. I have been honored to
be a part of the team that has made this vision a reality. Over the
years, I have met many patients and families whose lives have been
impacted and extended by our efforts. I am driven by these
experiences to expand the impact Blueprint Medicines can have on
more people and families across the globe who are looking to us
with hope for a better future. I look forward to continuing to work
with Jeff, as he steps into the Executive Chairman role, the Board,
and our executive team. Most importantly, I'm thrilled to lead and
work side-by-side with our employees at Blueprint Medicines, a team
that is passionate and deeply committed to continuously driving and
delivering medical innovation."
Ms. Haviland joined Blueprint Medicines in January 2016 as Chief Business Officer and has
served as Chief Operating Officer since January 2019. Over this time, she served as the
founding chair of the portfolio management team, formed and
executed business development strategy, drove global capital
investment plans, and played a key role in capital market
financings. In addition, she directly supported the company's
evolution into a fully integrated business by developing and
providing ongoing management of critical functions, including
portfolio strategy and program management, corporate development,
commercial strategy, international, technical operations, corporate
affairs, and information systems. Prior to joining Blueprint
Medicines, Ms. Haviland held leadership roles focused on building
emerging, high-growth companies and advancing the development of
innovative therapies in oncology and rare diseases as Vice
President, Rare Diseases and Oncology Program Leadership at Idera
Pharmaceuticals, Head of Commercial Development at Sarepta
Therapeutics, Executive Director of Commercial Development at PTC
Therapeutics, and roles in both corporate development and project
management at Genzyme. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University with a double major in
Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Economics and an M.B.A. from
Harvard Business School. Ms. Haviland
has served as an independent director on the board of Fulcrum
Therapeutics since June 2018 and is a
member of the audit and compensation committees.
As part of the succession plan, Mr. Albers has agreed to serve
as Executive Chairman through the end of 2022, with continued
service as Chairman thereafter, with the goal of enabling a
seamless leadership transition as the company continues to execute
on its growth strategy.
About Blueprint Medicines
Blueprint Medicines is a global precision therapy company that
invents life-changing therapies for people with cancer and blood
disorders. Applying an approach that is both precise and agile, we
create medicines that selectively target genetic drivers, with the
goal of staying one step ahead across stages of disease. Since
2011, we have leveraged our research platform, including expertise
in molecular targeting and world-class drug design capabilities,
to rapidly and reproducibly translate science into a broad pipeline
of precision therapies. Today, we are delivering approved medicines
directly to patients in the United
States and Europe, and we
are globally advancing multiple programs for systemic mastocytosis,
lung cancer and other genomically defined cancers, and cancer
immunotherapy. For more information, visit
www.BlueprintMedicines.com and follow us on Twitter
(@BlueprintMeds) and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, as amended, including, without limitation, express or implied
statements regarding plans, strategies, timelines and expectations
for Blueprint Medicines' current or future approved drugs and
drug candidates, including timelines for marketing applications and
approvals, the initiation of clinical trials or the results of
ongoing and planned clinical trials; Blueprint
Medicines' plans, strategies and timelines to nominate
development candidates; plans and timelines for additional
marketing applications
for avapritinib and pralsetinib and, if
approved, commercializing
avapritinib and pralsetinib in additional
geographies or for additional indications; the potential benefits
of any of Blueprint Medicines' current or future approved
drugs or drug candidates in treating patients; the potential
benefits of Blueprint
Medicines' collaborations; Blueprint
Medicines' strategy, goals and anticipated financial
performance, milestones, business plans and focus; and the
potential benefits of Blueprint Medicines' succession planning
process and executive leadership transition plan. The words "aim,"
"may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan,"
"anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict,"
"project," "potential," "continue," "target" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press
release are based on management's current expectations and beliefs
and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important
factors that may cause actual events or results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release, including, without
limitation, risks and uncertainties related to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic to Blueprint Medicines' business,
operations, strategy, goals and anticipated milestones, including
Blueprint Medicines' ongoing and planned research and
discovery activities, ability to conduct ongoing and planned
clinical trials, clinical supply of current or future drug
candidates, commercial supply of current or future approved
products, and launching, marketing and selling current or future
approved products; Blueprint Medicines' ability and plans in
continuing to establish and expand a commercial infrastructure, and
successfully launching, marketing and selling current or future
approved products; Blueprint Medicines' ability to
successfully expand the approved indications for AYVAKIT/AYVAKYT
and GAVRETO or obtain marketing approval for AYVAKIT/AYVAKYT in
additional geographies in the future; the delay of any current or
planned clinical trials or the development of Blueprint
Medicines' current or future drug candidates; Blueprint
Medicines' advancement of multiple early-stage efforts;
Blueprint Medicines' ability to successfully demonstrate the
safety and efficacy of its drug candidates and gain approval of its
drug candidates on a timely basis, if at all; the preclinical and
clinical results for Blueprint Medicines' drug candidates,
which may not support further development of such drug candidates;
actions of regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation,
timing and progress of clinical trials; Blueprint
Medicines' ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and
other intellectual property protection for AYVAKIT/AYVAKYT, GAVRETO
or any drug candidates it is developing; Blueprint
Medicines' ability to develop and commercialize companion
diagnostic tests for AYVAKIT/AYVAKYT, GAVRETO or any of its current
and future drug candidates; the success of Blueprint
Medicines' current and future collaborations, partnerships or
licensing arrangements; and Blueprint Medicines' ability to
realize the anticipated benefits of its succession planning process
and executive leadership transition plan. These and other risks and
uncertainties are described in greater detail in the section
entitled "Risk Factors" in Blueprint
Medicines' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), including Blueprint Medicines' most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by its most recent Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q and any other filings that Blueprint Medicines
has made or may make with the SEC in the future. Any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release
represent Blueprint Medicines' views only as of the date
hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as
of any subsequent date. Except as required by law, Blueprint
Medicines explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Blueprint Medicines Corporation