Dr. Sabbagh Brings More Than 20 Years of Experience in Rare Genetic Disorders and Mineral Metabolism Research Development Programs
- Dr. Sabbagh Brings More Than 20 Years of Experience in Rare Genetic Disorders and Mineral Metabolism Research Development Programs
- Company Announces Retirement of David Thompson, Ph.D.
- Company to Open New Laboratory Space to IncreaseR&D Capabilities
BOSTON, Oct. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inozyme Pharma, Inc.(Nasdaq: INZY), a rare disease biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of diseases of abnormal mineralization impacting the vasculature, soft tissue and skeleton, today announced the appointment of Yves Sabbagh, Ph.D., as senior vice president and chief scientific officer, and the retirement of David Thompson, Ph.D., Inozyme’s former chief scientific officer.
Dr. Sabbagh brings to Inozyme more than 20 years of experience in rare genetic disorders and mineral metabolism with responsibilities leading to the identification and evaluation of novel therapeutic approaches and translating them into clinical candidates. Dr. Sabbagh will be responsible for expanding Inozyme’s proprietary pipeline by identifying and developing new therapeutics for monogenic and non-genetic diseases of abnormal mineralization.
“Yves is an accomplished and well-regarded scientist in the areas of renal, bone and mineral research and brings to Inozyme extensive management experience leading teams developing highly innovative drug candidates,” said Axel Bolte, MSc, MBA, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Inozyme Pharma. “I want to express my deep appreciation for David’s extensive contributions over the last several years. He has been instrumental in establishing the research group at Inozyme and our portfolio of indications for INZ-701. We look forward to maintaining an active relationship with David in his new role as senior advisor to the Company and wish him the very best in his retirement.”
Prior to joining Inozyme, Dr. Sabbagh served as the head of rare renal and musculoskeletal diseases research at Sanofi. Prior to that executive role, he held scientific roles of increasing responsibility at Sanofi and Genzyme Corporation spanning endocrine, renal and rare bone diseases including driving the strategy for bone indications. Prior to his corporate experience, he was an instructor at the Harvard Medical School in the Endocrine unit.
“Based on the compelling science and the quality of translational research conducted in mineralization disorders with an initial focus on ENPP1 and ABCC6 deficiencies, Inozyme has the potential to help patients with devastating and debilitating rare diseases that currently lack effective treatment options,” said Dr. Sabbagh. “I am excited to be joining Inozyme at such an important time in its growth trajectory. And I look forward to leveraging the company’s new lab infrastructure in Boston’s innovative Seaport District to contribute to Inozyme’s continued success and bring transformative therapies to patients.”
Dr. Sabbagh has co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and is a member of several scientific societies. Dr. Sabbagh received a B.Sc. in biochemistry from McGill University, an MSc in microbiology from Université Laval and a Ph.D. in biology from McGill University.
In conjunction with Dr. Sabbagh’s appointment, Dr. Thompson announced his retirement as senior vice president and chief scientific officer. Dr. Thompson will step down from his role following a transition period and will remain associated with the Company in his role as senior advisor.
About Inozyme Pharma
Inozyme Pharma is a rare disease biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of diseases of abnormal mineralization impacting the vasculature, soft tissue and skeleton. Through our in-depth understanding of the biological pathways involved in mineralization, we are pursuing the development of potentially first-in-class therapeutics to address the underlying causes of these debilitating diseases. It is well established that two genes, ENPP1 and ABCC6, play key roles in a critical mineralization pathway and that defects in these genes lead to abnormal mineralization. We are initially focused on developing a novel therapy to treat the rare genetic diseases of ENPP1 and ABCC6 deficiencies.
Inozyme Pharma was founded in 2017 by Joseph Schlessinger, Ph.D., Demetrios Braddock, M.D., Ph.D., and Axel Bolte, MSc, MBA, with technology developed by Dr. Braddock and licensed from Yale University. For more information, please visit www.inozyme.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our research and development programs. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” 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 set forth in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the Company’s ability to successfully resolve the clinical hold with regard to its planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial of INZ-701 for ENPP1 deficiency; obtain and maintain necessary approvals from the FDA and other regulatory authorities; continue to advance its product candidates in preclinical studies and clinical trials; replicate in later clinical trials positive results found in preclinical studies and early-stage clinical trials of its product candidates; advance the development of its product candidates under the timelines it anticipates in planned and future clinical trials; obtain, maintain and protect intellectual property rights related to its product candidates; manage expenses; and raise the substantial 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. In addition, the forward-looking statements included 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 specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.
Investors:
Brian Luque, Director, Investor Relations
(951) 206-1200
ir@inozyme.com
Media:
Alex Van Rees, SmithSolve
(973) 442-1555 ext. 111
alex.vanrees@smithsolve.com
