CARLSBAD, Calif., June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ionis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) today announced changes
to its board of directors. Joseph
Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed chairman of the
board and Allene M. Diaz has been
appointed to the board. As previously announced, Ionis founder and
Executive Chairman Stanley T.
Crooke, M.D., Ph.D., has retired from the board.
Breaux B. Castleman has also retired
from the board.
Dr. Loscalzo has been on the Ionis board since February 2014, serving on the Nominating,
Governance and Review and Science/Medical committees. He is
currently Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School and chairman,
Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief, Brigham and Women's
Hospital. He received his A.B. degree, summa cum laude, his
Ph.D. in biochemistry and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. An outstanding
cardiovascular scientist, clinician and teacher, he is the
recipient of many awards, including the Clinician-Scientist Award,
the Distinguished Scientist Award, the Research Achievement Award
and the Paul Dudley White Award from
the American Heart Association. Dr. Loscalzo is editor-in-chief of
Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association,
a senior editor of Harrison's
Principles of Internal Medicine, a member of the Advisory Council
of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and a member of the
Council of Councils of the National Institutes of Health. He has
authored more than 1,100 peer-reviewed articles and holds 32
patents for his work in the field of nitric oxide and redox
biology. Dr. Loscalzo also serves on the board of directors of Leap
Therapeutics, Inc.
Dr. Loscalzo assumes leadership of the board from Dr. Crooke. In
December 2020, the company announced
that after pioneering RNA-targeted therapeutics and leading the
company for more than 30 years, Dr. Crooke would step down as
executive chairman to focus on his scientific interests and the
nonprofit organization he founded, the n-Lorem Foundation. Dr.
Crooke will continue to serve as a scientific advisor to Ionis,
including providing advice regarding Ionis' research and
development programs and guiding the core antisense research group
he founded at Ionis.
Dr. Loscalzo commented, "I am deeply honored that the Ionis
board has entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as its
chairman. Brett and his executive leadership team have set a bold
and exciting agenda to expand the company's pioneering technology
and deliver many more novel RNA-targeted therapies for patients in
need. I am thrilled to be a part of this important and noble
endeavor."
Ms. Diaz founded AMD Consulting, a new product strategy and
portfolio management consulting practice, in 2020 and currently
serves as senior advisor to Xilio Therapeutics. Previously, Ms.
Diaz served in senior executive roles at GlaxoSmithKline and
TESARO. Prior to that she held a variety of commercial leadership
positions in the EMD Serono and Merck Serono divisions of Merck
KGaA. Earlier in her career, Ms. Diaz held management and operating
roles in new product planning, portfolio management, marketing,
sales and medical affairs at Pfizer, Biogen, Amylin, Parke-Davis
and Cancervax. She has contributed to the development, launch
and/or commercialization of multiple transformative products across
several therapeutic areas. Ms. Diaz serves on the boards of
directors of Mersana Therapeutics, Allena Pharmaceuticals, and BCLS
Acquisition Corp.
"I'm delighted to join the Ionis board of directors and look
forward to lending my expertise in product strategy and global
commercialization to the company as it prepares to deliver 12-plus
novel therapies to market by 2026," said Ms. Diaz.
Mr. Castleman, president and chief executive officer of Syntiro
Healthcare Services, Inc., served on the Ionis board since 2013 and
was a member of the Audit committee. Since January 2008, Mr. Castleman has been a senior
advisor of McNally Capital, LLC, a private equity and merchant
banking firm focused on investments in private equity, both direct
to companies and through private equity partnerships.
"These are exciting times for Ionis, and I can't think of a
person better qualified to assume the role of chairman of our board
than Joe. His exceptional leadership and experience as one of the
nation's leading cardiologists have served the company well. As
chairman, I believe Joe's innovative and strategic thinking will be
instrumental to our success as we execute an ambitious strategy to
expand Ionis' leadership in RNA-targeted therapeutics," said
Brett P. Monia, Ph.D., chief
executive officer of Ionis. "I'm equally pleased that Allene has
agreed to join our board. Her extensive background in the
biopharmaceutical industry and accomplishments as a commercial
leader and strategist will serve the company well as we execute on
our plans for commercialization. I also want to thank Breaux
for his years of board service, particularly his valuable
contributions as a member of the Audit committee. And, of course,
all of us at Ionis are grateful for Stan's incredible vision and
leadership during his more than 30-year tenure at Ionis."
About Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
For more than 30 years, Ionis has been the leader in
RNA-targeted therapy, pioneering new markets and changing standards
of care with its novel antisense technology. Ionis currently has
three marketed medicines and a premier late-stage pipeline
highlighted by industry-leading neurological and cardiometabolic
franchises. Our scientific innovation began and continues with the
knowledge that sick people depend on us, which fuels our vision of
becoming one of the most successful biotechnology companies.
To learn more about Ionis visit www.ionispharma.com and follow
us on twitter @ionispharma.
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SOURCE Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.