Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: WVE), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company focused on unlocking the broad potential of
RNA medicines to transform human health, today announced the
appointment of Erik Ingelsson, MD, PhD, as Chief Scientific
Officer. Dr. Ingelsson will drive Wave’s emerging therapeutic
portfolio strategy, including growing its genetics and genomics
capabilities for identifying new, high impact targets, and
leveraging the company’s best-in-class multimodal discovery and
development platform to advance transformative RNA medicines. Most
recently, Dr. Ingelsson served as Senior Vice President, Head of
Target Discovery, at GSK.
“Our mission to unlock the broad potential of RNA medicines
requires us to combine the capabilities of our best-in-class
oligonucleotide platform with novel drug targets informed by human
genetics. Dr. Ingelsson brings to Wave deep expertise in genetics
and drug discovery, as well as substantial experience in metabolic
diseases. He will leverage his experience to accelerate
identification of new genetic insights and rapidly translate those
insights into RNA medicines at Wave, including with our wholly
owned INHBE program for obesity,” said Paul Bolno, MD, MBA,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Wave Life Sciences. “I am
excited to welcome Dr. Ingelsson to our leadership team and look
forward to his contributions, which will shape the future of our
sustainable, diverse and impactful therapeutic pipeline across
multiple modalities, including RNA editing and siRNA.”
While at GSK, Dr. Ingelsson led a team focused on a large-scale,
industrialized approach to target discovery and validation,
bringing together functional genomics, chemical biology, structural
biology, protein and cellular sciences to drive drug discovery and
development. His organization worked across all therapeutic areas
at GSK.
Previously, Dr. Ingelsson was the SVP of Genomic Sciences at
GSK, an organization with world-leading skills and capabilities in
human genetics, computational biology, omics technologies and gene
editing, responsible for harnessing the latest methods and
technologies in genomics to discover and validate novel drug
targets, and to drive more successful development of the next
generation of medicines. Before joining GSK, Dr. Ingelsson was
Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. His lab used human
genetics and functional genomics to discover novel biology and drug
targets related to insulin resistance and related conditions, such
as obesity, MASH, and cardiovascular disease. His work combined
large-scale human genetics studies with in-depth pre-clinical
validation work and an emphasis on cardiometabolic diseases.
Dr. Ingelsson obtained his MD and PhD at Uppsala University,
Sweden. After clinical internship and residency, he undertook
postdoctoral research at the Framingham Heart Study before joining
the faculty at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden), where he
was appointed Professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology. He was also
Professor of Molecular Epidemiology at Uppsala University and was a
visiting professor at Oxford University. He has published over 400
peer-reviewed original articles and has an h-index of
145.
“Having gotten to know Wave through its collaboration with GSK,
I have seen firsthand the enormous potential of its world-leading
RNA therapeutics platform and its people to rapidly translate
genetic insights into novel medicines,” said Dr. Ingelsson. “I am
thrilled to join Wave during this incredibly exciting time with
multiple near-term clinical data readouts approaching and a rapidly
advancing INHBE program that exemplifies Wave’s ability to execute
ahead of plan and accelerate a program with incredible potential to
disrupt the obesity space and deliver value to patients and
shareholders. Wave has built an extraordinary, innovative, and
agile discovery team and I look forward to leading this talented
organization through the next phase of the company’s
evolution.”
In connection with Dr. Ingelsson joining Wave, he received a
share option to purchase 350,000 ordinary shares of Wave and 12,000
restricted share units (RSU). The equity grants were approved by
Wave’s Compensation Committee and were granted to Dr. Ingelsson on
May 8, 2024, outside of the Wave Life Sciences Ltd. 2021 Equity
Incentive Plan, as amended, as an inducement material to Dr.
Ingelsson’s commencing employment with Wave, in accordance with
Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The option has an
exercise price of $5.85 per share, the closing price on the grant
date, and vests over four years with 25% vesting on May 8, 2025,
and the remainder vesting in equal quarterly installments over the
following three years. The RSU vests as to 100% of the shares on
the first anniversary of the grant date.
About Wave Life SciencesWave Life Sciences
(Nasdaq: WVE) is a biotechnology company focused on unlocking the
broad potential of RNA medicines to transform human health. Wave’s
RNA medicines platform, PRISM®, combines multiple modalities,
chemistry innovation and deep insights in human genetics to deliver
scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and prevalent
disorders. Its toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities includes
editing, splicing, RNA interference and antisense silencing,
providing Wave with unmatched capabilities for designing and
sustainably delivering candidates that optimally address disease
biology. Wave’s diversified pipeline includes clinical programs in
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and
Huntington’s disease, as well as a preclinical program in obesity.
Driven by the calling to “Reimagine Possible,” Wave is leading the
charge toward a world in which human potential is no longer
hindered by the burden of disease. Wave is headquartered in
Cambridge, MA. For more information on Wave’s science, pipeline and
people, please visit www.wavelifesciences.com and follow Wave on X
(formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended,
including, without limitation, statements regarding Dr. Ingelsson’s
leadership and expertise in genetics and drug discovery and how
these capabilities may benefit Wave; beliefs that Dr. Ingelsson’s
experience will accelerate identification of new genetic insights
and the translation of those insights into RNA medicines; the
anticipated timing and expectations for delivering data from our
clinical trials; and the potential of our RNA medicines platform,
and any benefits that may arise as a result thereof. The words
“may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,”
“project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press
release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs
and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important
factors that may cause actual events or results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release and actual results may
differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking
statements as a result of these risks, uncertainties and important
factors, including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties
described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Wave’s most
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), as amended, and in other filings Wave
makes with the SEC from time to time. Wave undertakes no obligation
to update the information contained in this press release to
reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.
Investor Contact:Kate Rausch+1
617-949-4827krausch@wavelifesci.com
Media Contact:Alicia Suter+1
617-949-4817asuter@wavelifesci.com
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