Exhibit 99.1
Vigil Neuroscience Expands Leadership Team and Board of Directors
- Christopher Verni appointed as General Counsel and Mary Thistle appointed to its Board of Directors -
Cambridge, Mass. – April 20, 2022 - Vigil Neuroscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIGL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to harnessing the power of microglia for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointments of Christopher Verni as General Counsel and Mary Thistle to its Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Chris and Mary to the Vigil team during this pivotal time of growth,” said Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch Ph.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Vigil. “Chris’ extensive experience in legal operations, intellectual property and business transactions will be instrumental to Vigil’s pipeline growth and an important addition to our leadership team. We also look forward to Mary’s insights as she brings deep expertise in business development, finance, and program strategy across various therapeutic indications, including rare diseases. Their contributions will be invaluable as we progress multiple novel pipeline candidates through clinical development.”
“I am delighted to join the Vigil team as the company continues to develop a pipeline of innovative therapeutics for neurodegenerative indications with high unmet medical needs,” said Mr. Verni. “I look forward to working with the team to advance Vigil’s lead program and bring novel assets to the pipeline with the goal of improving treatment options for patients.”
Mr. Verni brings over 20 years of broad legal experience in the biotech and pharma industries. He was most recently Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Sarepta Therapeutics. There he provided legal counsel and contributed to legal risk management during a period of high growth with the commercial launch of three rare disease therapies. He also played a central role in the negotiation and acquisition of pipeline programs through M&A, licensing and strategic partnerships. Prior to Sarepta, he served as Senior Patent Counsel at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, where he executed a global exclusivity strategy and supported the launch of the company’s first FDA approved therapy. Previously, Mr. Verni served as Senior Patent Counsel at Genzyme and Corporate Counsel – Intellectual Property at Pfizer. He holds a J.D., with a concentration in intellectual property, from Franklin Pierce Law Center and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Rochester.
“I am compelled by Vigil’s innovative and patient-driven approach to developing precision medicines,” said Ms. Thistle. “Restoring microglial function is a unique therapeutic approach with the potential to treat a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases, including rare diseases and diseases that affect larger patient communities. I am excited to work with this talented team and contribute to Vigil’s mission.”
Ms. Thistle has more than 25 years of experience leading biopharmaceutical companies’ strategy, business development and finance and has deep expertise in an array of therapeutic areas. She currently serves as Special Advisor at the Bill & Melinda Gates Research Institute. Previously, she was the Chief Operating Officer at Dimension Therapeutics where she led the Series B financing and initial public offering, expanded the pipeline from two products to seven through business development transactions and ultimately oversaw the company sale to Ultragenyx. Before that, she held several executive level roles at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, PerkinElmer, and ViaCell across business development, strategy, operations, and finance. Ms. Thistle currently serves on the Board of Directors of Alaunos Therapeutics, Homology Medicines, Entrada Therapeutics, Enterome, SA and Cocoon Bio. She holds a B.S. in business and accounting from the University of Massachusetts.
