Business
Abeona Therapeutics Appoints Brian Pereira and Shawn Tomasello to the Board of Directors
Company appoints experienced industry leaders Brian Pereira as Executive Chairman and Shawn Tomasello as Independent Board Member NEW YORK and CLEVELAND,
About this update from Abeona Therapeutics Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Company appoints experienced industry leaders Brian Pereira as Executive Chairman and Shawn Tomasello as Independent Board Member\nNEW YORK and CLEVELAND, April 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO), a fully-integrated leader in gene and cell therapy, today announced appointments of Brian Pereira, M.D. and Shawn Tomasello, M.B.A. as Executive Chairman and Independent Board Member, respectively.\n “On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to welcome Brian and Shawn, and look forward to collaborating with them as we guide Abeona to success,” said Steven H. Rouhandeh, former Executive Chairman and current Director. “Each brings seasoned insights, leadership, and an array of knowledge that will be extremely valuable as the Company evolves from a clinical to commercial-stage organization.” Dr. Pereira, President and CEO of Visterra, Inc. (ACQ: Otsuka America, Inc.), brings proven leadership to Abeona fostered during a distinguished career in guiding several biopharma companies to success. Equally, Ms. Tomasello has extensive experience in several leadership roles, most notably as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at cell therapy pioneer Kite Pharmaceuticals (ACQ: Gilead). “With an impressive clinical pipeline of gene and cell therapies, a novel capsid platform, and world-class GMP manufacturing operations, Abeona has tremendous potential to be a leader in the exciting field of genetic medicine that is making treatment for those with rare genetic diseases a reality,” said Dr. Pereira. “Fulfilling the promise of Abeona’s mission, led by the most advanced gene therapy program in Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, is central to my commitment to the company and its investors.” Ms. Tomasello said, “My past experiences have several parallels to the opportunity at Abeona, most notably at Kite, which was a true innovator in the fields of autologous cell therapy, biotech, and medicine as a whole. Moreover, Abeona’s fully-integrated business has a range of unique qualities rarely found in a company of its size, and has it poised to reach its full potential.” Dr. Pereira and Ms. Tomasello were nominated by funds affiliated with Great Point Partners, LLC (GPP) pursuant to the previously disclosed letter agreement entered into as part of the Company’s December 24, 2019 underwritten public offering, which was suppor...