PHILADELPHIA, June 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Passage Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: PASG), a clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on developing transformative therapies for rare, monogenic central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the election of Derrell D. Porter, M.D., to its board of directors and his appointment to the Audit Committee, effective as of May 27, 2021, the date of Passage Bio’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Dr. Porter is founder and chief executive officer of Cellevolve Bio, a cell therapy company focused on transforming investigational CNS, oncology and transplant therapies into commercial products.
“With his strong corporate strategy, product development and commercial experience, Derrell is a terrific addition to our board,” said Bruce Goldsmith, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Passage Bio. “His election further strengthens our board, adding valuable insights as we continue to develop and implement strategies to deliver potentially transformative therapies to patients around the world.”
Tadataka Yamada, M.D., chairman of the Passage Bio Board of Directors, said: “We are delighted to welcome Derrell to the Passage Bio Board of Directors and Audit Committee, and we look forward to working with him and benefiting from his wealth of industry experience.”
Prior to founding and leading Cellevolve Bio in 2020, Dr. Porter served as senior vice president and head of Commercial at Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. from May 2017 to October 2019. While there, he built the global commercial organization, including its product launch strategy. Prior to joining Atara, Dr. Porter served as a vice president with Gilead Sciences from April 2013 to May 2017, where he was responsible for corporate strategy, commercial planning, and global launch preparation for all of Gilead’s therapeutic areas. Previously, Dr. Porter was at AbbVie and Amgen, where he served in multiple U.S., EU and global roles of increasing responsibility in strategy, corporate development, business unit management, and sales and marketing. Dr. Porter began his career at McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles as part of the West Coast Health Care Practice. He currently serves on the boards of directors of several private companies.
Dr. Porter holds an M.D. and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology / neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles.
“I am incredibly excited to join Passage Bio’s Board and Audit Committee and help shape the formation of the company’s global commercial strategy,” Dr. Porter said. “Corporate strategy and global commercialization are areas where I have considerable expertise, and I look forward to working with the board and management on formulating their commercial plans and strategies to help ensure the company’s therapies reach the patients who need them.”
Additional Board Changes
In joining Passage Bio’s Board of Directors, Dr. Porter replaces Patrick Heron. Mr. Heron did not stand for re-election due to other professional obligations.
Maxine Gowen, who joined Passage Bio’s Board of Directors in February 2021, has now been appointed to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
“We thank Maxine for taking on additional board responsibilities and are grateful to Patrick, as a founding board member, for his considerable contributions to the formation of Passage Bio,” Dr. Yamada said. “We wish Patrick well as he turns his focus to other responsibilities, including his role as managing partner at Frazier Life Sciences.”
About Passage Bio
At Passage Bio (Nasdaq: PASG), we are on a mission to provide life-transforming gene therapies for patients with rare, monogenic CNS diseases that replace their suffering with boundless possibility, all while building lasting relationships with the communities we serve. Based in Philadelphia, PA, our company has established a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with the renowned University of Pennsylvania’s Gene Therapy Program to conduct our discovery and IND-enabling preclinical work. This provides our team with enhanced access to a broad portfolio of gene therapy candidates and future gene therapy innovations that we then pair with our deep clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and commercial expertise to rapidly advance our robust pipeline of optimized gene therapies into clinical testing. As we work with speed and tenacity, we are always mindful of patients who may be able to benefit from our therapies. More information is available at www.passagebio.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of, and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to: our expectations about timing and execution of anticipated milestones, including initiation of clinical trials and the availability of clinical data from such trials; our expectations about our collaborators’ and partners’ ability to execute key initiatives; our expectations about manufacturing plans and strategies; our expectations about cash runway; and the ability of our lead product candidates to treat their respective target monogenic CNS disorders. These forward-looking statements may be accompanied by such words as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “possible,” “will,” “would,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements, including: our ability to develop and obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates; the timing and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials; risks associated with clinical trials, including our ability to adequately manage clinical activities, unexpected concerns that may arise from additional data or analysis obtained during clinical trials, regulatory authorities may require additional information or further studies, or may fail to approve or may delay approval of our drug candidates; the occurrence of adverse safety events; the risk that positive results in a preclinical study or clinical trial may not be replicated in subsequent trials or success in early stage clinical trials may not be predictive of results in later stage clinical trials; failure to protect and enforce our intellectual property, and other proprietary rights; our dependence on collaborators and other third parties for the development and manufacture of product candidates and other aspects of our business, which are outside of our full control; risks associated with current and potential delays, work stoppages, or supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic; and the other risks and uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section in documents the company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other reports as filed with the SEC. Passage Bio undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
For further information, please contact:
Investors:
Stuart Henderson
Passage Bio
267.866.0114
shenderson@passagebio.com
Media:
Gwen Fisher
Passage Bio
215.407.1548
gfisher@passagebio.com