— Mayo Pujols brings nearly three decades of
technical operations and manufacturing experience, of which the
past five years have been exclusively focused on cell and gene
therapy, from leading biopharma companies including Andelyn
Biosciences, Novartis and Celgene—
— Mr. Pujols will lead technical operations and
the Company’s state-of-the-art, recently cGMP ready, Clinical and
potential Commercial AAV manufacturing facility in Cranbury, N.J.
—
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT), a leading
late-stage, clinical biotechnology company advancing an integrated
and sustainable pipeline of genetic therapies for rare childhood
disorders with high unmet need, today announces the appointment of
Mayo Pujols as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Executive Vice
President. Mr. Pujols brings nearly three decades of experience,
from leadership roles across technical operations, quality
operations, validation, process development and Good Manufacturing
Practice (cGMP) manufacturing. He most recently served as Chief
Executive Officer of Andelyn Biosciences, a leading gene therapy
contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and
prior to Andelyn was the Head of Global Cell and Gene Technical
Development and Manufacturing for Novartis Pharmaceuticals. As
Rocket’s first CTO, Mr. Pujols will lead the technical operations
function and chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) for all
lentiviral programs. Additionally, he will lead the Company’s
state-of-the-art adeno-associated virus (AAV) manufacturing
facility that has recently achieved cGMP readiness for a planned
Phase 2 pivotal study in Danon Disease.
“The arrival of Mayo, one of the leading cell and gene therapy
technical operations experts in the industry, comes at an exciting
time, as we have completed our in-house AAV manufacturing readiness
plan and are progressing on the path toward a Phase 2 pivotal study
and potential commercialization for our therapy for Danon Disease,”
said Kinnari Patel, Pharm.D., M.B.A., President and Chief Operating
Officer of Rocket Pharma. “Mayo’s proven track record of success
and leadership in gene therapy and CAR-T cell therapy at both
Novartis and Celgene adds to our team’s rich experience as we
prepare our first regulatory filings for our lentiviral platform
and advance our AAV platform in our pursuit of gene therapy cures
for patients living with rare and devastating diseases.”
Prior to joining Rocket, Mr. Pujols was Chief Executive Officer
of Andelyn Biosciences, a CDMO affiliated with Nationwide
Children's Hospital, where he led its expansion to a full-service
gene therapy CDMO. Previously, he served as Head of Global Cell and
Gene Technical Development and Manufacturing for Novartis
Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the global
development and internal and external manufacturing for the cell
and gene therapy franchise. He also served as Vice President of
global CAR‐T operations and technology at Celgene, where he led
global manufacturing and technical operations of CAR-T products and
built the company’s commercial manufacturing capabilities.
Throughout his distinguished career, he has also held key roles at
Merck, Advaxis, MedImmune and Schering-Plough.
“Rocket’s progress moving four gene therapy programs to clinical
proof of concept and achieving the primary endpoint for two of them
in a short time is remarkable,” said Mr. Pujols. “Additionally, its
forward-looking approach to in-house AAV manufacturing will help
ensure patients with rare genetic disorders, like Danon Disease,
have reliable access to quality therapies for which there are
currently no other viable options. I’m grateful and excited to join
this passionate group of visionaries who are dedicating their
careers to making a difference in the lives of patients and family
members facing these devastating diseases.”
Mr. Pujols earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering
from Stevens Institute of Technology and his master’s in chemical
engineering and applied chemistry from Columbia University’s The Fu
Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
About Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Rocket
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT) is advancing an integrated and
sustainable pipeline of genetic therapies that correct the root
cause of complex and rare childhood disorders. The Company’s
platform-agnostic approach enables it to design the best therapy
for each indication, creating potentially transformative options
for patients afflicted with rare genetic diseases. Rocket's
clinical programs using lentiviral vector (LVV)-based gene therapy
are for the treatment of Fanconi Anemia (FA), a difficult-to-treat
genetic disease that leads to bone marrow failure and potentially
cancer, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), a severe pediatric
genetic disorder that causes recurrent and life-threatening
infections that are frequently fatal, and Pyruvate Kinase
Deficiency (PKD), a rare, monogenic red blood cell disorder
resulting in increased red cell destruction and mild to
life-threatening anemia. Rocket’s first clinical program using
adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy is for Danon
Disease, a devastating, pediatric heart failure condition. For more
information about Rocket, please visit www.rocketpharma.com.
Rocket Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements Various statements in this release concerning
Rocket’s future expectations, plans and prospects, including,
without limitation, Rocket’s expectations regarding its guidance
for 2022 in light of COVID-19, the safety and effectiveness of
product candidates that Rocket is developing to treat Fanconi
Anemia (FA), Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), Pyruvate
Kinase Deficiency (PKD), and Danon Disease, the expected timing and
data readouts of Rocket’s ongoing and planned clinical trials,
Rocket’s plans for the advancement of its Danon Disease program
following the lifting of the FDA’s clinical hold and the safety,
effectiveness and timing of related pre-clinical studies and
clinical trials, and Rocket’s plans for the advancement of its
Danon Disease, FA and PKD programs based on the data presented at
ASGCT and the potential for therapeutic benefit related thereto,
may constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the
safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws and are
subject to substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions. You
should not place reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which often include words such as "believe," "expect,"
"anticipate," "intend," "plan," "will give," "estimate," "seek,"
"will," "may," "suggest" or similar terms, variations of such terms
or the negative of those terms. Although Rocket believes that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, Rocket cannot guarantee such outcomes. Actual results
may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including,
without limitation, Rocket’s ability to monitor the impact of
COVID-19 on its business operations and take steps to ensure the
safety of patients, families and employees, the interest from
patients and families for participation in each of Rocket’s ongoing
trials, our expectations regarding the delays and impact of
COVID-19 on clinical sites, patient enrollment, trial timelines and
data readouts, our expectations regarding our drug supply for our
ongoing and anticipated trials, actions of regulatory agencies,
which may affect the initiation, timing and progress of
pre-clinical studies and clinical trials of its product candidates,
Rocket’s dependence on third parties for development, manufacture,
marketing, sales and distribution of product candidates, the
outcome of litigation, and unexpected expenditures, as well as
those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled "Risk
Factors" in Rocket’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2021, filed February 28, 2022 with the SEC.
Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. All such statements speak only as of
the date made, and Rocket undertakes no obligation to update or
revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220727005226/en/
Media Kevin Giordano Director, Corporate Communications
kgiordano@rocketpharma.com
Investors Jessie Yeung, M.B.A. Vice President, Investor
Relations and Corporate Finance investors@rocketpharma.com
Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024