Homology Medicines Appoints Albert Seymour, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer
Homology Medicines announces the promotion of Albert Seymour, Ph.D., to CEO, succeeding Arthur Tzianabos, Ph.D., who becomes Chairperson of the Board. Both joined the company in 2016, collaborating to advance its gene therapy and gene editing programs. Dr. Seymour aims to drive value for shareholders while providing updates on key clinical candidates by year-end. The company emphasizes its strong financial position and pipeline progress, with ongoing work on therapies for rare diseases such as PKU and Hunter syndrome.
- Leadership transition to Albert Seymour expected to enhance pipeline management and operational focus.
- Strong financial position supports ongoing clinical programs and future developments.
- Upcoming program updates anticipated for HMI-103 and HMI-203 by year's end.
- Concerns regarding continuity of leadership experience with Tzianabos moving from CEO to Chairperson.
- Potential gaps in experience may arise with the leadership transition.
Arthur Tzianabos, Ph.D., Named Chairperson of the Board of Directors
BEDFORD, Mass., Sept. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Homology Medicines, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIXX), a genetic medicines company, announced today the promotion of Albert Seymour, Ph.D., to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), President and member of the Board of Directors. He is succeeding Arthur Tzianabos, Ph.D., who has been appointed as Chairperson of Homology’s Board of Directors. Dr. Tzianabos and Dr. Seymour joined Homology in 2016 as CEO & President and Chief Scientific Officer, respectively, and they helped to build the Company into a clinical-stage organization with programs spanning nuclease-free gene editing, gene therapy and gene therapy-delivered monoclonal antibodies (GTx-mAb).
“We believe Homology has a clear path forward with our clinical programs and is in a strong financial position. We expect that the multiple validating business development deals we have done and our recent pipeline prioritization will allow us to progress through several key milestones. The time is right to make this transition in leadership to Albert, who has been instrumental in expanding and advancing Homology’s pipeline of genetic medicines and with whom I have worked closely for the past six-and-a-half years at Homology and previously during our time at Shire,” stated Dr. Tzianabos. “Albert is a seasoned scientific executive who has also led Clinical Development and Operations, Commercial and Human Resources at the Company. I will work closely with Albert and the team as Homology progresses, while I evaluate opportunities to help create and build innovative biotech companies that can translate new technologies into potential treatments for patients.”
“I am honored and excited to lead the talented and committed team of colleagues at Homology as we continue on our mission to deliver genetic medicines to people who need them,” stated Dr. Seymour. “With our solid scientific and operational foundation, we are keenly focused on clinical trial execution and building value for our shareholders. We anticipate providing program updates at the end of this year for HMI-103, our in vivo nuclease-free gene editing candidate for PKU, and HMI-203, our gene therapy candidate for Hunter syndrome. I want to thank Arthur for his leadership of Homology and his past and future support. I look forward to working with Arthur in his new role as Chair, and with the Board of Directors and our team as we drive our AAVHSC genetic medicine platform and development programs forward on behalf of the rare disease community.”
Dr. Seymour has driven the translation of Homology’s proprietary in vivo gene therapy and nuclease-free gene editing platform from early research and discovery to clinical development programs for rare diseases. Prior to Homology, he was the Senior Vice President and Head of Global Research and Nonclinical Development at Shire plc. Before Shire, he spent 14 years at Pfizer Inc., leading teams in the application of human genetics and computational biology to discover and develop therapeutics and pharmacogenomics strategies in diabetes, inflammatory diseases and oncology.
Dr. Tzianabos will remain on the Board of Oxford Biomedica Solutions, a Manufacturing and Innovation Business that Homology established with Oxford Biomedica. In conjunction with Homology’s leadership transition, Kush Parmar, M.D., Ph.D., has stepped down as Chair and member of the Board of Homology.
Dr. Tzianabos added, “I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Dr. Kush Parmar, who co-founded Homology at 5AM Ventures with the vision for how our AAVHSC technology platform could be applied to develop one-time potentially curative genetic medicines. He has been an excellent advisor as Chair of our Board, and we thank him for his continued support.”
About Homology Medicines, Inc.
Homology Medicines, Inc. is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients suffering from rare diseases by addressing the underlying cause of the disease. The Company’s clinical programs include HMI-103, a gene editing candidate for phenylketonuria (PKU); HMI-203, an investigational gene therapy for Hunter syndrome; and HMI-102, an investigational gene therapy for adults with phenylketonuria (PKU). Additional programs focus on metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and other diseases. Homology’s proprietary platform is designed to utilize its family of 15 human hematopoietic stem cell-derived adeno-associated virus (AAVHSCs) vectors to precisely and efficiently deliver genetic medicines in vivo through a gene therapy or nuclease-free gene editing modality, as well as to deliver one-time gene therapy to produce antibodies throughout the body through the GTx-mAb platform. Homology has a management team with a successful track record of discovering, developing and commercializing therapeutics with a focus on rare diseases. Homology believes its initial clinical data and compelling preclinical data, scientific and product development expertise and broad intellectual property position the Company as a leader in genetic medicines. For more information, visit www.homologymedicines.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations surrounding the leadership transitions discussed in this press release; potential, safety, efficacy, and regulatory and clinical progress of our product candidates; the potential of our gene therapy and gene editing platforms, including our GTx-mAb platform; our plans and timing for the release of additional preclinical and clinical data; our position as a leader in the development of genetic medicines; and the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to fund our operations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and operations, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and on general economic conditions; we have and expect to continue to incur significant losses; our need for additional funding, which may not be available; failure to identify additional product candidates and develop or commercialize marketable products; the early stage of our development efforts; potential unforeseen events during clinical trials could cause delays or other adverse consequences; risks relating to the regulatory approval process; interim, topline and preliminary data may change as more patient data become available, and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data; our product candidates may cause serious adverse side effects; inability to maintain our collaborations, or the failure of these collaborations; our reliance on third parties, including for the manufacture of materials for our research programs, preclinical and clinical studies; failure to obtain U.S. or international marketing approval; ongoing regulatory obligations; effects of significant competition; unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives; product liability lawsuits; securities class action litigation; failure to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; the possibility of system failures or security breaches; risks relating to intellectual property and significant costs incurred as a result of operating as a public company. These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
Company Contacts
Theresa McNeely
Chief Communications Officer
and Patient Advocate
tmcneely@homologymedicines.com
781-301-7277
Media Contact:
Cara Mayfield
Vice President, Patient Advocacy
and Corporate Communications
cmayfield@homologymedicines.com
781-691-3510
FAQ
What changes were made in the leadership of Homology Medicines and why?
What is the impact of the leadership changes on the company's future?
What clinical programs is Homology Medicines focused on following the leadership transition?
