Verve Therapeutics Announces the Appointment of Nia Tatsis, Ph.D. and Jodie Morrison to Its Board of Directors

28/06/2024 – 07:00 AM

BOSTON, June 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Verve Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to treating cardiovascular disease with single-use gene-editing medicines, today announced the appointment of Dr. Nia Tatsis and Jodie Morrison to its Board of Directors. Dr. Tatsis currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Regulatory and Quality Officer for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Morrison currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Q32 Bio Inc.

“We are thrilled that Nia and Jodie are joining the Verve board, sharing their decades of impressive experience in leading and advising pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies at key stages of drug development, manufacturing and commercialization,” said Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, co-founder and CEO of Verve Therapeutics. “We look forward to hearing their valuable insights as we focus on pipeline execution as the Heart-2 clinical trial of VERVE-102 continues to advance, which aims to PCSK9 gene, initiation of VERVE-201 clinical trials focused on ANGPTL3 gen and steady progress in our earlier phase of the LPA program.”

“I deeply admire Verve’s mission to transform the way cardiovascular disease is treated around the world. Their goal of transforming the chronic care model to gene-editing drugs in a single course is an important step in improving the lives of people with heart disease,” said Dr. Tatsis. “I look forward to working closely with Verve’s leadership team and board as the company continues its work on the PCSK9, ANGPTL3 and LPA programs.”

“The opportunity to address millions of people worldwide with cardiovascular disease with a single treatment is a truly important mission, and I look forward to working with the Verve team as they continue this effort,” said Ms. Morrison. “Verve is well-positioned to become a preeminent leader in the cardiovascular field, supported by an impressive team and transformative science.”

Nia Tatsis, Ph.D., joined Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2017 and serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Regulatory and Quality Officer. Prior to joining Vertex, Dr. Tatsis held positions of increasing responsibility at pharmaceutical companies including Sanofi, Pfizer, and Wyeth. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs, Sanofi Genzyme Business Unit. Dr. Tatsis currently serves on the Executive Board of the International Institute of New England. She previously served as a Research Fellow and Staff Scientist in Immunology and Vaccine Development at the Wistar Institute. Dr. Tatsis earned her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Vermont and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in Immunology at Thomas Jefferson University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Temple University.

Jodie Morrison, CEO and Director of Q32 Bio Inc., has more than two decades of biopharmaceutical leadership experience in private and public biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies from start-up to commercial stage. Ms. Morrison previously served as CEO of Cadent Therapeutics until its sale to Novartis in 2021. Ms. Morrison also served as Interim CEO of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (merged with equals into Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. in 2018), Acting COO of Syntimmune, Inc. (acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) and President and Chief Executive Officer of Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she oversaw the company’s successful initial public offering (IPO) in 2014. Ms. Morrison currently serves as an advisor to Atlas Venture, where she previously served as a venture partner and as a board member at Rectify Pharma and on the board of directors at Life Science Cares. Ms. Morrison has a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Mount Holyoke College.

About Verve Therapeutics
Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERV) is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company pioneering a new approach to treating cardiovascular disease, potentially transforming treatment from chronic therapy to gene-editing medicines in a single course. The company’s lead programs, VERVE-101, VERVE-102 and VERVE-201, target genes that have been widely validated as targets for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), the primary cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). VERVE-101 and VERVE-102 are designed to permanently power down PCSK9 gene in the liver and are being developed initially for heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) and ultimately for the treatment of patients with established ASCVD who still have high LDL-C levels. VERVE-201 is designed to permanently disable ANGPTL3 gene in the liver and is being initially developed for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) and for refractory hypercholesterolemia, in which patients continue to have high LDL-C despite treatment with maximally tolerated standard of care therapies. For more information, visit www.VerveTx.com.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve significant risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the Company’s research and development plans and the potential benefits and therapeutic potential of the Company’s programs. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this press release, including statements regarding the Company’s strategy, future operations, future financial condition, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “may,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “could” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to the Company’s limited operating history; the Company’s ability to timely submit and receive regulatory approvals for its product candidates; promote its product candidates in clinical trials; initiate, enroll and complete ongoing and future clinical trials on the expected dates or at all; correctly estimate the potential patient population and/or market for the Company’s product candidates; replicate in clinical trials the positive results obtained in preclinical studies and/or prior clinical trials of VERVE-101, VERVE-102 and VERVE-201; promote the development of its product candidates within the timelines expected in current and future clinical trials; obtain, maintain or protect intellectual property rights related to its product candidates; manage expenses; and raise significant additional capital needed to achieve its business objectives. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties and other important factors, any of which could cause the company’s actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the “Risk Factors” section, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in the company’s most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in other filings the company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future. In addition, the forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent the company’s views as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing the company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof. The company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the company’s views to change. However, while the company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the company expressly disclaims any obligation to do so.

Contact for investors
Jen Robinson
Verve Therapy Inc.
[email protected]

Contact with the media
Ashlea Kosikowski
1AB
[email protected]

Frequently asked questions

Who are the new management board members appointed by Verve Therapeutics?

Dr Nia Tatsis and Jodie Morrison have been appointed to the board. Dr. Tatsis is EVP at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Morrison is CEO of Q32 Bio.

When did Verve Therapeutics announce its new board appointments?

Verve Therapeutics has announced appointments for June 28, 2024.

What do the new board appointments mean for Verve Therapeutics?

The appointments bring extensive regulatory, quality control and biopharmaceutical leadership experience to support Verve’s ongoing clinical trials and pipeline execution.

What are the most important clinical trials mentioned in the Verve Therapeutics press release?

Key clinical trials include the Heart-2 study of VERVE-102 targeting the PCSK9 gene and the initiation of the VERVE-201 study targeting the ANGPTL3 gene.