EXHIBIT 99.1
Wave Life Sciences Expands Board of Directors with Three New Appointments
New independent directors bring deep expertise in drug development, commercial operations and government affairs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.,September 5, 2019 – Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: WVE), a clinical-stage genetic medicines company committed to delivering life-changing treatments for people battling devastating diseases, today announced the appointment of Amy Pott, Heidi L. Wagner, JD, and Mark H. N. Corrigan, MD, to its Board of Directors. These new independent directors deepen the Board’s expertise in clinical development, product commercialization, and government and payor relations as the company advances its clinical and preclinical pipeline and further develops PRISMTM, its proprietary discovery and drug development platform. They will also provide strategic guidance on the company’s ongoing preparations for the potential U.S. launch of suvodirsen for the treatment of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who are amenable to exon 51 skipping.
“We are excited to expand our board with varying strategic and operational expertise from across the life sciences industry and provide additional perspectives on advancing Wave’s broad pipeline, evolving PRISM and achieving the goal of delivering transformational medicines for rare, genetically-defined diseases,” said Christian Henry, Chair of the Board of Directors of Wave Life Sciences. “Increasingly, the company’s conversations are focused on late-stage clinical development, commercialization and market access strategies and capabilities. Amy, Heidi and Mark bring a wealth of experience that will help us translate Wave’s innovative science into meaningful improvements for families around the world.”
Amy Pott
Ms. Pott has held leadership roles of increasing responsibility at biopharmaceutical companies primarily focused in rare disease and specialized conditions, and today serves as President, North America, for Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, also known as SOBI. She previously served as Group Vice President, US Franchise Head, Internal Medicine and Oncology at Shire Plc, and Vice President, Global Market Access and Vice President, Strategy, Planning and Analytics at Baxalta, Inc. Ms. Pott brings deep commercial expertise, having launched multiple products in rare diseases worldwide, as well as being responsible for sales, marketing, market access, analytics, strategic planning and training functions while in a variety of commercial roles. Earlier in her career, Ms. Pott focused in the payor, as well as access and reimbursement, spheres of the healthcare industry, with roles at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Baxter Healthcare Corporation.
“I am excited to be joining Wave’s Board of Directors at such a transformational time, when the company is preparing for its first potential commercial launch in the U.S.,” said Ms. Pott. “I look forward to sharing insights from my launch experiences and providing guidance to the team to help bring suvodirsen to the exon 51 amenable Duchenne community.”
Heidi L. Wagner, JD
Ms. Wagner currently serves as Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Policy at Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc., and has also held government affairs leadership roles at multiple biotechnology companies, including Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Genentech, Inc. While at Alexion, she successfully led funding negotiations and global payor strategy in support of the company’s rare disease portfolio. She has been responsible for all aspects of government affairs at different points in her career, including directing a broad portfolio of legislative and regulatory policy issues at international, national and local levels, and overseeing discussions relating to pricing, reimbursement and patient access, as well as patient advocacy.
