PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Passage Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: PASG), a genetic medicines company focused on developing transformative therapies for rare, monogenic central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the appointment of Maxine Gowen, Ph.D., to its board of directors, effective Feb. 18. Dr. Gowen is chief executive officer of Tamuro Bio, a post that she has held since July 2019.
“We are immensely excited to have Maxine join our board of directors,” said Dr. Bruce Goldsmith, president and chief executive officer of Passage Bio. “Her public company leadership and deep clinical development expertise will provide tremendous support to Passage Bio as we transition to a clinical development organization in the first half of 2021.”
Tadataka Yamada, M.D., chairman of the Passage Bio board of directors and company co- founder, added: “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Gowen to the board of directors of Passage Bio. Her extensive board and leadership experience in both large and small innovative pharmaceutical and biotech companies will be beneficial as Passage Bio continues its growth trajectory. We look forward to working with and benefiting from the experience and expertise of Dr. Gowen.”
Dr. Gowen was the founding president and chief executive officer of Trevena, Inc. from 2007 to October 2018, and has served as a member of Trevena’s board of directors since 2008. Dr. Gowen previously held a variety of leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, over a period of 15 years. As senior vice president for GSK’s Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery, she developed an innovative new approach to externalizing drug discovery. She also currently serves on the boards of directors for Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., and Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. In addition, Dr. Gowen serves on the private company boards of directors of Tamuro Bio and Panorama Therapeutics, Inc., as well as the board of directors of Life Sciences Pennsylvania, an industry organization. Dr. Gowen graduated with a B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Bristol, U.K., received a Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Sheffield, U.K., and received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
“Passage Bio is in the vanguard of companies working to develop potentially transformative gene therapies, and I am incredibly excited to be able to join and contribute to the board at such a pivotal time in the company’s journey,” Dr. Gowen said.
Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., Resigns from Passage Bio Board of Directors
Dr. Gowen’s appointment comes as Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., resigns from Passage Bio’s board of directors and as acting head of Research & Development for the company. Steve was a co- founder of Passage Bio who also served as interim chief executive officer at the formation of the company through January 2020. During Steve’s tenure, Passage Bio worked closely with the University of Pennsylvania’s Gene Therapy Program to advance our pipeline, raised substantial funding, established the leadership team and supported the company’s Initial Public Offering.
“I am proud of where Passage Bio stands today with a strong management team, expansion of the clinical, manufacturing and operations team and an extremely sound financial position,” said Dr. Squinto. “I leave my positions optimistic about the future of the company as it continues to make significant progress in developing gene therapies with the potential of transforming lives of patients with rare CNS disorders.”
“We are grateful for Dr. Squinto’s instrumental work in setting up Passage Bio to eventually become an independent publicly traded company and supporting the initial growth of the company infrastructure,” said Dr. Yamada. “We wish Dr. Squinto continued success as he turns his focus to other responsibilities, including his full-time role as executive partner at OrbiMed.”
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.
