Ron Cooper succeeds Jason Hanson as Chief
Executive Officer and Director
Company also announces Dr. Raj Pruthi’s
promotion to Chief Medical Officer
enGene Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ENGN, “enGene” or the “Company”),
a clinical-stage genetic medicines company whose non-viral,
intravesical lead product candidate, EG-70, is in a pivotal study
for BCG-unresponsive high-risk Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer
(NMIBC), today announced that Ron Cooper has joined the Company as
Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors,
effective July 22, 2024. This transition follows a previously
announced succession plan for Jason Hanson, who will remain in
service to the Company as a strategic advisor.
“The Board of Directors and I would like to warmly welcome Ron
Cooper, who brings significant discovery, development, and
commercial launch expertise,” said Dr. Richard Glickman, Chairman
of the Board of Directors. “Given his proven record of effectively
developing and commercializing transformative therapeutics, Mr.
Cooper is an excellent fit to lead enGene forward as the Company
continues to advance EG-70 as an innovative and differentiated
therapeutic option for patients with high-risk NMIBC.”
“The unmet need for patients with bladder cancer is
significant,” said Mr. Cooper. “EG-70 has the potential to be the
most practical treatment option for high-risk NMIBC based on a
unique combination of efficacy, tolerability and ease of
administration. Under Mr. Hanson’s leadership, the enGene team has
developed an innovative platform to deliver genetic medicines
through mucosal tissues, which I believe has underappreciated
potential.”
Mr. Cooper most recently served as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Albireo Pharma, a fully integrated global commercial
biopharmaceutical company that Ipsen acquired in 2023. While at
Albireo Pharma, Mr. Cooper took the company public, created a new
corporate strategy to focus development on building a rare
pediatric company while monetizing other pipeline assets, and
guided Bylvay® through three Phase 3 programs, regulatory
approvals, and a global commercial launch. Earlier in his career,
Mr. Cooper spent nearly 30 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in
roles of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and general
management, most recently serving as President, Europe. While at
BMS, he played a leadership role in numerous successful product
launches. Mr. Cooper is currently Chairman of the Board of
Directors at C4 Therapeutics and serves on the Board of Generation
Bio. He is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University.
The Company also announced the promotion of Dr. Raj Pruthi to
Chief Medical Officer, succeeding Dr. Richard Bryce. Dr. Pruthi,
who joined enGene in April 2024, is a thought leader in the
urological community with over 25 years of experience providing
patient care and advancing the development of new therapeutics.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we would like to sincerely
thank Mr. Hanson for his service to enGene,” said Dr. Glickman.
“Mr. Hanson successfully led the Company's evolution from an
early-stage research organization to a well-capitalized, publicly
traded, pivotal-stage company poised to make an impactful
difference for patients living with NMIBC. We wish him all the best
in his future endeavors.”
About enGene enGene is a clinical-stage biotechnology
company mainstreaming genetic medicines through the delivery of
therapeutics to mucosal tissues and other organs, with the goal of
creating new ways to address diseases with high clinical needs.
enGene’s lead program is EG-70 for patients with Non-Muscle
Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) – a disease with a high clinical
burden. EG-70 is being evaluated in the ongoing multi-cohort LEGEND
Phase 2 study, which includes a registrational cohort studying
EG-70 in Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive patients with
carcinoma in situ (Cis). EG-70 was developed using enGene’s
proprietary Dually Derivatized Oligochitosan (DDX) platform, which
enables penetration of mucosal tissues and delivery of a wide range
of sizes and types of cargo, including DNA and various forms of
RNA.
Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained
in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and “forward-looking
information” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws
(collectively, “forward-looking statements”). enGene’s
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding enGene’s management teams’ expectations,
hopes, beliefs, intentions, goals or strategies regarding the
future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections,
forecasts or other characterizations of future events or
circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are
forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate”, “appear”,
“approximate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”,
“expect”, “foresee”, “intend”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “possible”,
“potential”, “predict”, “project”, “seek”, “should”, “would”, and
similar expressions (or the negative version of such words or
expressions) may identify forward-looking statements, but the
absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not
forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include, for
example, statements about the potential of EG-70 and enGene’s
proprietary DDX platform.
Many factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions could cause
the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements, including, without limitation, the Company’s ability to
recruit and retain qualified scientific and management personnel;
establish clinical trial sites and enroll patients in its clinical
trials; execute on the Company’s clinical development plans and
ability to secure regulatory approval on anticipated timelines; and
other risks and uncertainties detailed in filings with Canadian
securities regulators on SEDAR+ and with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on EDGAR, including those described in
the “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, our Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2024
and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended
April 30, 2024 (copies of which may be obtained at www.sedarplus.ca
or www.sec.gov).
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made.
enGene anticipates that subsequent events and developments will
cause enGene’s assessments to change. While enGene may elect to
update these forward-looking statements at some point in the
future, enGene specifically disclaims any obligation to do so,
unless required by applicable law. Nothing in this press release
should be regarded as a representation by any person that the
forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or
that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking
statements will be achieved.
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