Company developing commercial strategies and operational capabilities to support future product launches as investigational gene therapies advance through clinic
Announces Grant of Inducement Award Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 2019--
AVROBIO, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVRO) (the “Company”), a Phase 2 clinical-stage gene therapy company, today announced the appointment of Holly May, MBA, a rare diseases leader with deep experience in commercial strategy and operations, as Chief Commercial Officer. Ms. May will lead the Company’s expanding commercial team including launch readiness initiatives and play a key role developing and executing corporate growth strategy as AVROBIO advances its pipeline of gene therapies for lysosomal storage disorders.
Ms. May joins AVROBIO from SOBI, Inc. As SOBI’s Vice President and Head of Commercial, Ms. May led all aspects of commercial strategy, operations and performance, working in therapeutic areas including immunology, hematology, inflammatory disease and inborn errors of metabolism. Prior to her time at SOBI, Ms. May held leadership roles of increasing strategic importance across marketing, operations, sales, and strategic planning at Sanofi Genzyme. As a Vice President in the Genzyme rare disease unit, Ms. May led the team responsible for brand, disease and digital marketing for Fabry and other lysosomal storage diseases. Previous to Genzyme she worked for Sanofi’s Global Oncology business where she collaborated with the R&D team to design a cross-functional commercialization process for products in Phase 1 through launch. Ms. May earned her bachelor’s degree in zoology from Miami University of Ohio and her MBA, with a concentration in marketing, from the University of Akron.
“With a wealth of experience in lysosomal storage disorders and commercial strategy, Holly is perfectly suited to spearhead the development of AVROBIO’s commercial capabilities,” said Geoff MacKay, AVROBIO’s President and CEO. “To enable our therapies to reach patients in need, we are developing tailored approaches to engage with regulators, payers, physicians and patients. Holly and her team will focus on those important priorities. We are delighted to welcome her to our leadership team.”
“Gene therapies have the potential to transform the lives of patients, and AVROBIO’s work in this space is incredibly exciting,” said Ms. May. “With our investigational therapy for Fabry advancing through a Phase 2 trial and our cystinosis program in the clinic in a Phase 1/2 study, now is the time to be building an innovative and comprehensive commercial strategy that will prepare us for potential future product launches. We are all committed to our goal of making these therapies widely accessible to patients, and I look forward to working with the AVROBIO team as we seek to deliver on that commitment.”
Ms. May joins AVROBIO’s Executive Management Team and will report to Mr. MacKay.
In connection with Ms. May's appointment, effective October 21, 2019, the Company's Compensation Committee granted her non-qualified stock options to purchase 98,700 shares of common stock of the Company as a material inducement to employment pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The stock options have an exercise price of $14.21 per share, representing the closing price of AVROBIO’s common stock as reported by Nasdaq on the grant date. The option award has a ten-year term and vests over four years, with 25% of the original number of shares vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and the remainder vesting in equal monthly installments over the following three years. Vesting is subject to Ms. May’s continued service with AVROBIO through the applicable vesting dates.
About AVROBIO, Inc.
AVROBIO is a leading, Phase 2 gene therapy company focused on the development of its investigational gene therapy, AVR-RD-01, in Fabry disease, as well as additional gene therapy programs in other lysosomal storage disorders including Gaucher disease, cystinosis and Pompe disease. The Company’s plato™ platform includes a proprietary vector system, automated cell manufacturing solution and a personalized conditioning regimen deploying state-of-the-art precision dosing. AVROBIO is headquartered in Cambridge, MA and has offices in Toronto, ON. For additional information, visit www.avrobio.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “seeks,” “will” and variations of these words or similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the expected benefits from the appointment of Ms. May to the position of Chief Commercial Officer, our business strategy and commercialization plans, our prospective products and goals, the anticipated benefits of our gene therapy platform including potential impact on our commercialization activities, the therapeutic potential of our product candidates, the design, commencement, enrollment and timing of ongoing or planned clinical trials, including the ongoing clinical trials of AVR-RD-01 and AVR-RD-04, the timing and likelihood of success of our current or future product candidates, and the market opportunity for our product candidates. Any such statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Results in preclinical or early stage clinical trials may not be indicative of results from later stage or larger scale clinical trials and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data presented.
Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on AVROBIO’s current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry as well as management’s current beliefs and expectations of future events only as of today and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that any one or more of AVROBIO’s product candidates will not be successfully developed or commercialized, the risk of cessation or delay of any ongoing or planned clinical trials of AVROBIO or our collaborators, the risk that AVROBIO may not realize the intended benefits of our gene therapy platform, including the features of our plato platform, the risk that our product candidates or procedures in connection with the administration thereof will not have the safety or efficacy profile that we anticipate, the risk that prior results, such as signals of safety, activity or durability of effect, observed from preclinical or clinical trials, will not be replicated or will not continue in ongoing or future studies or trials involving AVROBIO’s product candidates, the risk that we will be unable to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our product candidates, the risk that the size and growth potential of the market for our product candidates will not materialize as expected, risks associated with our dependence on third-party suppliers and manufacturers, risks regarding the accuracy of our estimates of expenses and future revenue, risks relating to our capital requirements and needs for additional financing, and risks relating to our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause AVROBIO’s actual results to differ materially and adversely from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in AVROBIO’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in AVROBIO’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AVROBIO explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the extent required by law.
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Source: AVROBIO, Inc.
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