CRANBURY, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT), a fully integrated, late-stage biotechnology company advancing a sustainable pipeline of genetic therapies for rare disorders with high unmet need, today announced the appointment of Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., as an independent director to its Board of Directors. Dr. Dolsten is an accomplished industry executive with extensive global pharmaceutical management experience.
“As an industry-leading pharmaceutical executive, I am very pleased to welcome Mikael to our Board of Directors,” said Gaurav Shah, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Rocket Pharma. “His research and development experience will help advance our leading scientific capabilities and contribute to our mission of developing and delivering potentially transformative treatments for patients.”
Throughout his career, Dr. Dolsten has held several positions and is currently the Chief Scientific Officer, President, Research & Development (R&D) at Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), focused on advancing gene therapies, small-molecule medicines, biotherapeutics, and vaccines. Dr. Dolsten’s previous roles include President of Research at Wyeth and Executive Vice President, Head of Worldwide Research at Boehringer Ingelheim, and senior R&D positions at AstraZeneca, Pharmacia, and Upjohn. He is a member of the Board of Overseers for the Scripps Research Institute and a Foreign Member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He also advised the Obama administration on regulatory and drug development issues and then Vice President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
“Rocket has an impressive pipeline of clinical programs which have shown tremendous promise potentially curing genetic disease,” said Dr. Mikael Dolsten, Chief Scientific Officer and President, Pfizer Research & Development. “I am excited to bring my passion and experience to Rocket as it becomes a commercial organization and strives to reach more patients in need.”
About Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT) is a fully integrated, late-stage biotechnology company advancing a sustainable pipeline of investigational genetic therapies designed to correct the root cause of complex and rare disorders. Rocket’s innovative multi-platform approach allows us to design the optimal gene therapy for each indication, creating potentially transformative options that enable people living with devastating rare diseases to experience long and full lives.
Rocket’s lentiviral (LV) vector-based hematology portfolio consists of late-stage programs for Fanconi Anemia (FA), a difficult-to-treat genetic disease that leads to bone marrow failure (BMF) and potentially cancer, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), a severe pediatric genetic disorder that causes recurrent and life-threatening infections which are frequently fatal, and Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKD), a monogenic red blood cell disorder resulting in increased red cell destruction and mild to life-threatening anemia.
Rocket’s adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-based cardiovascular portfolio includes a late-stage program for Danon Disease, a devastating heart failure condition resulting in thickening of the heart, an early-stage program in clinical trials for PKP2-arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a life-threatening heart failure disease causing ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, and a pre-clinical program targeting BAG3-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a heart failure condition that causes enlarged ventricles.
For more information about Rocket, please visit www.rocketpharma.com and follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X.
