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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Verve Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to the care of cardiovascular disease with single-course gene editing medicines, today announced that Alexander G. “Bo” Cumbo, chief executive officer and president of AavantiBio, Inc., has joined the company’s board of directors.
“Bo is a highly experienced industry executive with a well-established track record of leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies through critical processes in drug development and commercial execution,” said Sekar Kathiresan, M.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Verve. “As we focus on continued execution of our regulatory strategy for VERVE-101, as well as the advancement of our second program targeting ANGPTL3 and novel delivery technology, Bo’s expertise will be invaluable. We’re delighted to welcome Bo to the team, as we work to develop potentially life-changing treatments for the millions of people living with or are at risk of cardiovascular disease.”
“Verve has a tremendous opportunity to change the trajectory of how cardiovascular disease is treated around the world by transforming the chronic care model to single course therapies,” said Mr. Cumbo. “The team has made significant progress, evidenced by its imminent transition to clinical-stage company with a first-in-class approach to gene editing for cardiovascular disease. I’m excited to partner with the Verve team and by the opportunity to contribute to their pipeline development and expansion efforts in this incredibly valuable area of drug development.”
Mr. Cumbo brings more than 28 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience, including leading the commercial launches of 11 specialty or rare disease drugs. He has served as the president and chief executive officer of AavantiBio, Inc., a gene therapy company, since October 2020. From 2013 to 2020, Mr. Cumbo held positions of increasing responsibility at Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., ultimately serving as executive vice president, chief commercial officer. Prior to joining Sarepta in 2013, Mr. Cumbo served as vice president of sales, key account management, and treatment educator teams at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. During his time at Vertex, he led the launch of Incivek, one of the most successful drug launches in the history of U.S. pharmaceuticals. Mr. Cumbo served in multiple commercial roles supporting the HIV, HBV, and cardiovascular franchises at Gilead Sciences. He received his bachelor of science in laboratory technology from Auburn University.
About Verve Therapeutics
Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERV) is a genetic medicines company pioneering a new approach to the care of cardiovascular disease, transforming treatment from chronic management to single-course gene editing medicines. The company’s initial two programs target PCSK9 and ANGPTL3, genes that have been extensively validated as targets for lowering blood lipids such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), a root cause of cardiovascular disease. Verve’s lead product candidate, VERVE-101, is designed to permanently turn off the PCSK9 gene in the liver in order to disrupt blood PCSK9 protein production and thereby durably reduce blood LDL-C levels, with the goal of reducing a patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease. VERVE-101 is being developed initially for the treatment of patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, a potentially fatal genetic heart disease. For more information, please visit www.VerveTx.com.