AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ: QURE), a leader in human gene therapy, today announced that Will Lewis has joined uniQure's Supervisory Board as of June 11th, 2014. Mr. Lewis has been serving as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of Insmed, a biopharmaceutical company specialized in inhalation therapies for orphan lung diseases, since 2012.
"Will has a tremendous track record in achieving success for companies much like ours," said Jörn Aldag, CEO of uniQure. "His exceptional experience in the field of orphan diseases as well as his broad knowledge of the US and European financial markets will be of high value to the company."
"uniQure is at the forefront of gene therapy, not only aiming at curative treatments for orphan diseases but seeking to have a broader impact on human health by developing therapies to treat diseases such as Parkinson's," commented Will Lewis, MBA/JD. "Having been involved in both the scientific and financial aspects of management in the past, I am committed to bring my expertise in both areas to uniQure."
Mr. Lewis has more than 20 years of executive experience in the pharmaceutical and finance industries both in the US and internationally. He is the former Co-Founder, President and Chief Financial Officer of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. During his tenure at Aegerion, Mr. Lewis played a pivotal role in re-orienting the company's strategy to focus on orphan disease indications. Prior to Aegerion, Mr. Lewis spent 10 years working in the U.S. and Europe in investment banking for JP Morgan, Robertson Stephens and Wells Fargo. During his time in banking, he was involved in a broad range of domestic and international capital raises and advisory work valued at more than $20 billion.
Mr. Lewis also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Oberlin College and is a member of the Visiting Committees of the Weatherhead School of Management of Case Western Reserve University and The Hawken School. Mr. Lewis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Oberlin College and a Master of Business Administration/Juris Doctor with Honors from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to attending graduate school he worked in the Foreign Service for the US Government.
About uniQure
uniQure is delivering on the promise of gene therapy through single treatments with potentially curative results. We have developed a modular platform to rapidly bring new disease-modifying therapies to patients with severe disorders. We are engaged in multiple partnerships and have obtained regulatory approval of our lead product, Glybera, in the European Union for a subset of patients with LPLD. www.uniQure.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to", "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information available to management only as of the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the risk of cessation or delay of any of the ongoing or planned clinical studies and/or development of our product candidates, the risk of delay or failure to successfully commercialize or obtain further regulatory approval of Glybera, and the risk that our collaborations with Chiesi or our other collaboration partners will not continue or will not be successful. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including, without limitation, risks associated with our clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, product commercialization, intellectual property claims, and the risks, uncertainties and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in uniQure's Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated April 25, 2014. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
uniQure:
Aicha Diba
Investor Relations
Direct : +31 20 240 6100
Main: +31 20 566 7394
IR@uniQure.com
Media inquiries:
Gretchen Schweitzer
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Direct: +49 172 861 8540
Main: +1 781 235 3060
gschweitzer@macbiocom.com
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