Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSHA), a patient-centric,
pivotal-stage gene therapy company focused on developing and
commercializing AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of
monogenic diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) in both rare
and large patient populations, today announced executive leadership
changes effective immediately. Taysha’s Chair of the Board of
Directors, Sean P. Nolan, a highly experienced biopharmaceutical
industry senior leader, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer,
succeeding RA Session II, who has resigned from his operating role,
but will continue to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors. In
addition, Sukumar (Suku) Nagendran, M.D., a Director on Taysha’s
Board of Directors, and an accomplished physician, drug developer,
and biotech executive, has been appointed President and Head of
R&D.
“I am excited to join the Company at such a dynamic time in our
journey and energized to work with the team to expedite progress on
our two lead clinical programs in Giant Axonal Neuropathy (GAN) and
Rett syndrome, as well as further strengthen our strategic
partnership with Astellas,” said Mr. Nolan. “2023 is a crucial year
for Taysha and it is imperative that we precisely execute as an
organization on delivering key clinical and regulatory milestones
as we endeavor to bring transformative therapies to patients and
families suffering from devastating diseases.”
Mr. Nolan continued, “On behalf of the entire Board, we thank RA
for his many contributions since founding Taysha in 2019 and
successfully guiding the Company through its seed and crossover
funding, the initial public offering, advancing multiple programs
into the clinic and bringing in the strategic investment from
Astellas. He has been a valued partner that was foundational to
furthering Taysha’s mission, and we wish him the best in his future
endeavors.”
“Taysha has an industry leading pipeline, and I am thrilled to
join the management team as we strive to have an enhanced impact on
the development of potentially life changing treatments for
monogenic diseases of the central nervous system,” said Dr.
Nagendran. “I am excited about Taysha’s product candidates, its
people, and the many opportunities ahead to help patients. I look
forward to working more closely with Dr. Suyash Prasad, and the
entire Taysha clinical team to further the advancement of our lead
programs in GAN and Rett syndrome.”
Taysha anticipates hosting an investor call in mid-January once
final minutes from the FDA Type B meeting on GAN are available to
discuss feedback and next steps.
Mr. Nolan is an accomplished senior executive with over 30 years
of biopharmaceutical experience. He previously served as Chief
Executive Officer of the gene therapy company, AveXis Inc., until
its acquisition by Novartis. While at AveXis, Mr. Nolan led the
company through an initial public offering and transitioned it into
a fully integrated global organization with research, clinical,
regulatory, manufacturing and commercial capabilities. He also
previously served as Chief Business Officer of InterMune, Chief
Commercial Officer of Reata Pharmaceuticals and Ovation
Pharmaceuticals, and President of Lundbeck’s U.S. affiliate. Mr.
Nolan currently serves as Executive Chairman of Jaguar Gene
Therapy, and is a Board member of Encoded Therapeutics, Itsari
Oncology, Taysha Gene Therapies, and Ventas. He holds a B.A. in
Biology from John Carroll University.
Dr. Nagendran has more than 30 years of experience in key
functional areas, including gene therapy development, clinical
development strategy, medical affairs, and diagnostics. He
previously served as Chief Medical Officer and President of R&D
at Jaguar Gene Therapy. Prior to that, Dr. Nagendran was the Chief
Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of AveXis Inc., a
clinical-stage gene therapy company, from September 2015 to July
2018, prior to the company’s acquisition by Novartis. At Quest
Diagnostics, a provider of diagnostic information services, he
served as Vice President of Medical Affairs from March 2013 to
September 2015. Dr. Nagendran has also held key leadership
positions at Pfizer, Novartis, Daiichi Sankyo, and Reata
Pharmaceuticals. Prior to moving to the biotech industry, he
practiced internal medicine, with a focus on diabetes and
cardiovascular disease. Dr. Nagendran is a Mayo Alumni Laureate and
founding member of the Robert Wood Johnson Legacy Society. He is
also the sponsor for the Jerry Mendell award for Translational
Science at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy which
recognizes the extensive work required to bring gene and cell
therapies to clinical trial, and the Fonseca-Nagendran Scholar
award at the American Diabetes Association to enhance research in
minority populations. Dr. Nagendran currently serves on the Board
of Directors of SalioGen Therapeutics, Solid Biosciences, Cove,
Medocity, Project Healthy Minds, and Taysha Gene Therapies. He
holds an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Rutgers
University and earned his M.D. from Rutgers Medical School, and
trained in Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester.
About Taysha Gene Therapies
Taysha Gene Therapies (Nasdaq: TSHA) is on a mission to
eradicate monogenic CNS disease. With a singular focus on
developing curative medicines, we aim to rapidly translate our
treatments from bench to bedside. We have combined our team’s
proven experience in gene therapy drug development and
commercialization with the world-class UT Southwestern Gene Therapy
Program to build an extensive, AAV gene therapy pipeline focused on
both rare and large-market indications. Together, we leverage our
fully integrated platform—an engine for potential new cures—with a
goal of dramatically improving patients’ lives. More information is
available at www.tayshagtx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,”
“intends,” “projects,” “plans,” and “future” or similar expressions
are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include statements concerning the
potential of our product candidates, including our preclinical
product candidates, to positively impact quality of life and alter
the course of disease in the patients we seek to treat, our
research, development and regulatory plans for our product
candidates, the potential for these product candidates to receive
regulatory approval from the FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory
agencies, and whether, if approved, these product candidates will
be successfully distributed and marketed, the potential market
opportunity for these product candidates, our corporate growth
plans, the forecast of our cash runway and the implementation and
potential impacts of our strategic pipeline prioritization
initiatives. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s
current expectations and are subject to various risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
and adversely from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Accordingly, these forward-looking
statements do not constitute guarantees of future performance, and
you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Risks regarding our business are
described in detail in our Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”) filings, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the full-year ended December 31, 2021, which is available on the
SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will be made
available in other filings that we make from time to time with the
SEC. Such risks may be amplified by the impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update these
statements except as may be required by law.
Company Contact:Kimberly Lee, D.O. Chief
Corporate Affairs Officer
Taysha Gene Therapiesklee@tayshagtx.com
Media Contact:Carolyn HawleyEvoke Canale
carolyn.hawley@evokegroup.com
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