Sumitovant Biopharma and wholly-owned subsidiary Enzyvant, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative regenerative therapies for patients with rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Bill Symonds, Pharm.D., as interim chief executive officer, effective March 11, 2022.
Dr. Symonds has served as the chief executive officer of Altavant Sciences, a Sumitovant wholly-owned subsidiary, since its inception in August 2018. Previously, Dr. Symonds was a member of the founding management team at Roivant Sciences, Inc., where he served as chief development officer. Earlier in his career, Dr. Symonds held senior positions at a number of pharmaceutical companies, including Pharmasset, Inc. and Gilead Sciences, Inc., leading development efforts for several notable approved medicines.
“The future of Enzyvant is at a critical juncture, and we are thrilled to have Dr. Symonds lead the company into a new phase on an interim basis,” said Myrtle Potter, chief executive officer of Sumitovant. “Bill is part of the Sumitovant family of companies and previously also worked with Enzyvant during its early stages. With his knowledgeable background of the company, expertise as a drug developer and biotech business leader, I’m confident Bill will be of significant benefit to the team and play a tremendous part in the path forward for the future CEO of Enzyvant.”
Enzyvant received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its lead asset RETHYMIC (allogeneic processed thymus tissue-agdc) in October 2021. It is the first FDA-approved treatment for pediatric congenital athymia.
“I am excited to lead Enzyvant at this important moment in its history,” said Dr. Symonds. “The approval of RETHYMIC offers a revolutionary treatment to the congenital athymia patient community who face complex challenges with this condition on a daily basis. I look forward to working with the dedicated men and women of Enzyvant as we continue this critical journey.”
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About Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd.
Sumitovant is a global biopharmaceutical company leveraging data-driven insights to rapidly accelerate development of new potential therapies for unmet patient conditions. Through our unique portfolio of companies—wholly-owned Urovant, Enzyvant, Spirovant, Altavant, plus majority-owned Myovant (NYSE: MYOV)—and use of embedded computational technology platforms, Sumitovant has supported the development of FDA-approved products and advanced a promising pipeline of early-through late-stage investigational assets for other serious conditions. Sumitovant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. For more information, please visit our website at www.sumitovant.com.
About Enzyvant
Enzyvant is a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a focus on regenerative medicines for rare diseases. The company’s first commercial product is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved RETHYMIC (allogeneic processed thymus tissue-agdc), a tissue-based regenerative therapy for an ultra-rare and life-threatening pediatric immunodeficiency. Enzyvant has distinctive capabilities in expedited development of regenerative therapies for rare diseases. The company has obtained and leveraged multiple regulatory designations including Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy, Breakthrough, Fast Track, Rare Pediatric Disease, Orphan Drug, and Advanced Therapies Medicinal Product. Enzyvant is wholly-owned by Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd. (wholly-owned by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.).
For more information about Enzyvant, visit www.enzyvant.com.
About RETHYMIC®
RETHYMIC® (allogeneic processed thymus tissue-agdc) is a novel one-time tissue-based regenerative therapy used for immune reconstitution in pediatric patients with congenital athymia. RETHYMIC is engineered human thymus tissue designed to regenerate the thymic function children with congenital athymia are missing and does not require donor-recipient matching. RETHYMIC has been studied across 10 clinical trials for more than 25 years and was granted multiple U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designations including Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy, Breakthrough Therapy, Rare Pediatric Disease, and Orphan Drug. It also has been granted the Orphan Drug designation and the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product designation by the European Medicines Agency. RETHYMIC is the first and only treatment approved by the FDA for immune reconstitution in pediatric patients with congenital athymia.
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