Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Appoints Yann Mazabraud as Executive Vice President, Head of International
15 September 2020 - 6:01AM
Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:RYTM), a late-stage
biopharmaceutical company aimed at developing and commercializing
therapies for the treatment of rare genetic disorders of obesity,
today appointed Yann Mazabraud as the Company’s Executive Vice
President, Head of International, effective October 5, 2020. As a
member of the Company’s management team, Mr. Mazabraud will lead
Rhythm’s international operations.
“Rhythm is building a global, integrated
organization to advance setmelanotide, potentially the first
approved therapy to treat individuals living with severe obesity
and hyperphagia associated with rare genetic disorders of obesity,”
said David Meeker, M.D., Chair, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Rhythm. “Yann’s appointment to this newly-created role
reflects our commitment to delivering setmelanotide to individuals
worldwide, and we are thrilled to have him join our team as we
accelerate our strategic focus globally. Yann brings more than two
decades of experience leading rare diseases commercial strategy,
marketing and market access, which will prove invaluable as we
continue fostering a community of health care providers, patients
and families.”
With more than 20 years in the biopharmaceutical
industry leading global commercial and operations teams, Mr.
Mazabraud joins Rhythm from Trevi Therapeutics, where he served as
Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International for the last two
years. Prior to that, he held several leadership positions at
Sanofi Genzyme, including, Head of Latin America, U.S. General
Manager and North America Head, Rare Diseases. He also served as a
member of the Sanofi Genzyme Executive Leadership Team. Mr.
Mazabraud holds a master’s degree in management from Ecole
Supérieure de Commerce de La Rochelle.
“I am very excited to join Rhythm at this
important moment for the company,” said Mr. Mazabraud. “With
compelling clinical data for setmelanotide in a range of rare
genetic disorders of obesity, and advanced trials ongoing in
additional indications, now is the time to expand and accelerate
plans to deliver setmelanotide globally. I look forward to working
with the Rhythm team toward the goal of transforming the care of
people living with rare genetic disorders of obesity.”
In conjunction with this change, Rhythm
announced that Nithya Desikan, its Chief Commercial Officer, is
leaving the Company to explore other opportunities. Rhythm is
conducting a search for a Head of North American Operations, who
will serve alongside Mr. Mazabraud. Both roles will report to Dr.
Meeker.
Dr. Meeker commented, “We are deeply grateful to
Nithya for her many contributions to Rhythm. Under her leadership,
Rhythm has grown tremendously and developed strong relationships
with health care providers, advocacy groups and families, and
upheld a commitment to listening to the patient community to help
bolster both individual and collective understandings of rare
genetic disorders of obesity. She has built the foundation of a
robust, scalable commercial organization to support the potential
launch of setmelanotide, and we wish her the best in her future
endeavors.”
About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Rhythm is a
late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and
commercialization of therapies for the treatment of rare genetic
disorders of obesity. The Company is developing setmelanotide, its
investigational, melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonist, for the
treatment of severe obesity and hyperphagia associated with rare
genetic disorders of obesity. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing Rhythm’s New Drug
Application (NDA) for setmelanotide for the treatment of POMC
deficiency obesity and LEPR deficiency obesity with Priority Review
and a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date
of November 27, 2020. Rhythm also submitted a Marketing
Authorization Application (MAA) for setmelanotide to treat
individuals living with POMC deficiency obesity or LEPR deficiency
obesity to the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
in June 2020. Rhythm is also evaluating setmelanotide for
reduction in hunger and body weight in a pivotal Phase 3 trial in
people living with Bardet-Biedl and Alström syndromes, with topline
data from this trial expected in the fourth quarter of 2020 or
early in the first quarter of 2021. Rhythm is leveraging the Rhythm
Engine -- comprised of its Phase 2 basket study, TEMPO Registry,
GO-ID genotyping study and Uncovering Rare Obesity program -- to
improve the understanding, diagnosis and potentially the treatment
of rare genetic disorders of obesity. For healthcare professionals,
visit www.UNcommonObesity.com for more information. For
patients and caregivers,
visit www.LEADforRareObesity.com for more information.
The company is based in Boston, MA.
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 business
strategy and plans, including regarding commercialization of
setmelanotide; the potential, safety, efficacy, and regulatory and
clinical progress of setmelanotide, including anticipated timing of
data readouts and our expectations surrounding potential regulatory
approvals and timing thereof; and management changes. Statements
using words such as “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “may”,
“will” and similar terms are also forward-looking statements. 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 impact of our
management transition, our ability to enroll patients in clinical
trials, the design and outcome of clinical trials, the impact of
competition, the ability to achieve or obtain necessary regulatory
approvals, risks associated with data analysis and reporting, our
liquidity and expenses, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our
business and operations, including our preclinical studies,
clinical trials and commercialization prospects, and general
economic conditions, and other important factors discussed under
the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020 and our other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as
required by law, we undertake no obligations to make any revisions
to the forward-looking statements contained in this release or to
update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the
date of this release, whether as a result of new information,
future developments or otherwise.
Corporate Contact: David Connolly Head of
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Rhythm
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 857-264-4280 dconnolly@rhythmtx.com
Investor Contact: Hannah Deresiewicz Stern
Investor Relations, Inc. 212-362-1200
hannah.deresiewicz@sternir.com
Media Contact: Adam Daley Berry & Company
Public Relations 212-253-8881 adaley@berrypr.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e9c7c83a-19b7-4cf3-bd14-15d7391453b3
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