お知らせ • Jul 09
enGene Announces Board Changes
enGene Holdings Inc. announced the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors: Philip Astley-Sparke, William Grossman, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Heffernan, R.Ph. Their combined experience across gene therapy, oncology, clinical development, and global product launches will support enGene’s strategic transition toward planned commercialization of its lead investigational therapy, detalimogene. In connection with the appointment of the new directors, Jasper Bos, Ph.D., stepped down from the Board. Philip Astley-Sparke – Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Replimune Group Inc., a company developing next generation oncolytic immunotherapies. Mr. Astley-Sparke has scaled multiple companies from early-stage development to Biologics License Application (BLA) with accompanying commercial preparations. Prior to Replimune, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of BioVex Inc. (acquired by Amgen in 2011), which developed the first oncolytic vaccine to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Subsequent to BioVex/Amgen, Mr. Astley-Sparke was President of uniQure N.V., where he established the company’s U.S. infrastructure and served as the company’s Chairman from 2016 until 2021. He has served on numerous public and private boards and is currently Chairman of Synox Therapeutics Ltd. William Grossman, M.D., Ph.D. – Co-Founder and Head of Research and Development at Oncko Inc. and former Senior Vice President, Oncology Therapeutic Area Head at Gilead Sciences Inc. Prior to that, he held Chief Medical Officer roles at Arcus Biosciences and Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, and various leadership roles at AbbVie and Genentech/Roche. This included Group Medical Director, Cancer Immunotherapy at Genentech/Roche, where he was Global Development Team Leader for immuno-oncology combinations, including Tecentriq, across multiple therapeutic areas, and the MORPHEUS immunotherapy platform. Dr. Grossman brings hands-on clinical and regulatory experience across small molecules, large molecules, and cellular therapies. Michael Heffernan, R.Ph. – A seasoned biotech entrepreneur and operator, Mr. Heffernan founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. until June 2018, and later served as Chairman of the Board until 2025. He has successfully led multiple companies through growth stages, commercialization, and strategic transactions, including Onset Dermatologics—a dermatology company that he founded and spun out of Collegium to create PreCision Dermatology, which was later sold to Valeant. Mr. Heffernan held previous positions as co-founder and CEO of Clinical Studies Ltd., a pharmaceutical contract research organization that was sold to PhyMatrix Corp, and later served as CEO and Chairman of PhyMatrix Corp. He has also been an advisor, investor, and board member for a number of biopharma, medical device, and healthcare services companies. Matthew Boyd–Has been promoted to Chief Regulatory Officer from his roleasSenior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, which he has held since September 2024. Mr. Boyd has over 25 years of experience in regulatory, quality, medical affairs, and commercialization. He has led the submission of numerous original and supplemental New Drug Applications (NDAs) and BLAs. His most recent approval was Bylvay for rare pediatric liver disease while at Albireo Pharma. Mr. Boyd and his team set a new industry benchmark with Bylvay, completing the NDA filing less than 60 days after the top-line data announcement. Prior to enGene, he was Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Zambon USA from 2023 to 2024. Before joining Zambon, Mr. Boyd held several senior roles at Albireo Pharma, Sobi, EMD Serono, Sanofi, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Jill Buck–Has been promoted to Chief Development Officer from her role as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development Operations, which she has held since September 2024. Ms. Buck has over 25 years of global experience in drug development across multiple treatment modalities, therapeutic areas, and phases of development from preclinical BLA through Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) acceptance. She has led the successful completion of dozens of clinical trials and has been involved in multiple regulatory filings in the U.S. and internationally. Prior to joining enGene, she was Head, Clinical Development Operations, Rare Diseases at Ipsen from March 2023 to September 2024. Before her time with Ipsen, Ms. Buck held several senior roles in Clinical Development and Operations at Albireo Pharma, Ziopharm Oncology, and Synageva BioPharma. Katherine Chan, M.D., M.P.H. – Has been promoted to Executive Director, Urology Clinical Lead, following her recent transition from academic urology to the biotech sector. Dr. Chan brings over 11 years of academic experience as a board-certified urologist and NIH-funded Principal Investigator. Prior to joining enGene, she served as Vice Chair of Research and Associate Professor of Urology at the University of North Carolina. She previously held the role of Assistant Professor of Urology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Chan completed her medical degree at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, urology residency at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, pediatric urology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, and a Master of Public Health at Harvard University.
