DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSHA), a patient-centric gene therapy company focused on developing and commercializing AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of monogenic diseases of the central nervous system in both rare and large patient populations, today announced new additions to its leadership team with the appointments of Timothy J. Douros, J.D., as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary and Tracy M. Porter, M.Ed., SPHR, as Chief People Officer. Mr. Douros will lead all aspects of the company’s legal organization. Ms. Porter will oversee all aspects of human resources, including operations, talent acquisition and employee development.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tim and Tracy to the Taysha leadership team,” said RA Session II, President, Founder and CEO of Taysha. “Tim brings significant gene therapy experience from Bluebird Bio where he led a global team, in cross functional collaboration with all corporate functions. His experiences include a wide range of legal and corporate matters which will be invaluable as we continue to advance our programs and evolve as a company. With her vast experience in strategic and operation roles in human resources, Tracy has successfully led and scaled global organizations quickly, most recently at Audentes where she helped grow the base of global gene therapy professionals by more than 50% in less than a year. Tracy will be instrumental in helping us continue to build a successful organization, scale thoughtfully and maintain our culture. Importantly, both Tim and Tracy’s experiences working in companies at various stages of the biotech life cycle will be essential to our future growth strategy.”

Mr. Douros brings over 25 years of legal experience in biotech specializing in intellectual property, strategic licensing and contracting, litigation and dispute resolution, as well as international and healthcare compliance while building and managing high-performing teams. Prior to joining Taysha, he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel at Bluebird Bio, Inc., where he led a global team of attorneys and staff and was a strategic partner to all internal clients, including business development, research and development, clinical operations and regulatory affairs. Prior to that, he was Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Chief IP Counsel at Bluebird Bio where he provided counsel and managed all legal services related to the company’s European infrastructure build to support product launches as well as provided counsel on all areas of compliance. Mr. Douros also led the corporate intellectual property function and managed all corporate dispute resolution matters. Before joining Bluebird, he spent nearly 13 years at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., holding positions of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as Vice President, Chief International Counsel & Chief IP Counsel. Mr. Douros received an A.B. in Chemistry from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

“I could not be more excited to join such an accomplished and energetic team of gene therapy trailblazers,” said Mr. Douros. “With its potentially de-risked approach to gene therapy development, Taysha is well-positioned to be a leader in developing potentially disease-modifying gene therapies for patients with monogenic CNS diseases and I look forward to contributing to the company’s growth.”

Ms. Porter joins Taysha with nearly 30 years as a human resources executive focused in entrepreneurial global business environments and specializing in pharmaceuticals and biotech. She has guided organizations from start-up and early-stage biotech to initial product launches and has provided human resources support through manufacturing expansion, acquisitions, divestitures, strategic business reorganizations and integrations. She most recently served as Vice President, Head of Human Resources at Audentes Therapeutics, where she developed, implemented and sustained its human capital strategy to rapidly scale and support the company’s growth. Prior to joining Audentes, she spent time at Medivation Inc., and Bayer Healthcare LLC. Ms. Porter received a B.S. in Human Development and Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an M.Ed. in Global Human Resource Development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“Taysha’s community of talented, diverse and passionate people is exceptional and I am honored to be a part of the team,” said Ms. Porter. “Taysha has a remarkable vision to develop and commercialize innovative therapies to potentially transform patients’ lives. I look forward to helping build the team and capabilities to realize that vision.”

About Taysha Gene Therapies

Taysha Gene Therapies (Nasdaq: TSHA) is on a mission to eradicate monogenic CNS disease. With a singular focus on developing curative medicines, we aim to rapidly translate our treatments from bench to bedside. We have combined our team’s proven experience in gene therapy drug development and commercialization with the world-class UT Southwestern Gene Therapy Program to build an extensive, AAV gene therapy pipeline focused on both rare and large-market indications. Together, we leverage our fully integrated platform—an engine for potential new cures—with a goal of dramatically improving patients’ lives. More information is available at www.tayshagtx.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210126005462/en/