– UK, London / USA, MA – Orchard Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ORTX), a global gene therapy leader, today announced the appointment of Steven Altschuler, M.D., to its board of directors.
Dr. Altschuler brings nearly 20 years of experience building and leading world-class, integrated, translational, value-based health care systems and transformational biotechnology companies. He currently serves as managing director of Healthcare Ventures at Ziff Capital Partners and was previously chair of the board of directors at Spark Therapeutics for six years, from its founding until it was acquired in 2019.
“Steven joins Orchard at an exciting and pivotal time as we prepare for the anticipated EU regulatory approval of our investigational gene therapy for metachromatic leukodystrophy, as well as four additional regulatory filings in the U.S. and Europe that are expected by 2021,” said Mark Rothera, president and CEO. “With Steven’s deep understanding of healthcare policy, the current regulatory environment and knowledge of building a leading gene therapy company, he brings valuable perspectives and strategic leadership to our board.”
About Dr Steven Altschuler
In his role at Ziff Capital Partners, Dr. Altschuler co-leads the firm’s efforts toward investing in, and facilitating the start-up and development of, companies with potentially transformative technologies that emphasize cellular and molecular approaches to human disease. He previously co-founded Spark Therapeutics to develop and commercialize the preclinical and clinical gene therapy programs advanced at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and other institutions. He served as Spark’s board chair from its founding through its acquisition in 2019, which included leading the company through a successful transition to a public company and the launch of an approved commercial product, which was the first gene therapy for an inherited disease approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.
“The team at Orchard has demonstrated significant progress and industry leadership in developing potentially curative gene therapies, with a robust pipeline of seven clinical-stage programs across a number of serious inherited rare diseases,” said Dr. Altschuler. “I look forward to helping Orchard continue to execute on its clinical, regulatory and commercial priorities, and bring these innovative therapies to patients.”
Dr. Altschuler formerly held chief executive positions at CHOP and University of Miami Health System. He is a member of the board of directors of WW, Adtalem Global Education, AsclepiX Therapeutics, ImVaX and Platelet Biogenesis. He is also an independent trustee of the Brigham and Women’s Physician Organization at Mass General Brigham. Dr. Altschuler holds a B.A. in mathematics and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University.
About Orchard Therapeutics
Orchard Therapeutics is a global gene therapy leader dedicated to transforming the lives of people affected by rare diseases through the development of innovative, potentially curative gene therapies. Our ex vivo autologous gene therapy approach harnesses the power of genetically-modified blood stem cells and seeks to correct the underlying cause of disease in a single administration. The company has one of the deepest gene therapy product candidate pipelines in the industry and is advancing seven clinical-stage programs across multiple therapeutic areas, including inherited neurometabolic disorders, primary immune deficiencies and blood disorders, where the disease burden on children, families and caregivers is immense and current treatment options are limited or do not exist.
Orchard has its global headquarters in London and U.S. headquarters in Boston.
For more information: https://www.orchard-tx.com
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