SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Graphite Bio, a next-generation gene editing company, today announced that it has appointed Katherine Vega Stultz as chief operating officer and Philip P. Gutry as chief business officer and head of finance & investor relations. Ms. Stultz and Mr. Gutry join newly named Graphite Bio CEO Dr. Josh Lehrer on the company’s executive leadership team.
"I am delighted to welcome Katherine and Phil to the leadership team at Graphite Bio," said Dr. Lehrer, who was named chief executive officer in September. "Katherine is an experienced corporate leader and team builder who is unafraid to challenge the status quo in order to advance the disruptive medical innovations that improve human health. Phil draws upon his extensive business development and finance experience to serve as a trusted C-suite and Board advisor with unique expertise aligning corporate and R&D strategies to accelerate company growth. Their collective track record building dynamic, market-leading organizations and their passion for advancing ground-breaking science to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases will be invaluable as Graphite Bio works with urgency to develop potentially curative treatments based on our powerful and specific targeted DNA integration platform.”
Katherine Vega Stultz, Chief Operating Officer
Ms. Stultz is an entrepreneurially driven corporate leader with broad enterprise experience serving in leadership roles across the operations, clinical development and commercial functions of leading global healthcare companies. She brings to her role at Graphite Bio a proven track record of success in developing products and building brands that have generated over $1B in annual revenue.
Prior to joining Graphite Bio, Ms. Stultz spent 15 years at Celgene Corporation during a period of exponential growth for the company and its products. She served most recently as general manager in the Spain/Portugal market where she managed P&L and built a fully integrated team, accelerating revenue growth and significantly improving operating margins. Earlier at Celgene, Ms. Stultz served as corporate vice president, global project leadership, hematology and oncology, directing the clinical project organization worldwide and overseeing over 30 mid/late stage clinical programs. Katherine began her career at Eli Lilly & Company and ConvaTec, a Bristol-Myers Squibb company, where she progressed through a series of product development, project management, sales, and marketing positions.
Philip P. Gutry, Chief Business Officer, Head of Finance & Investor Relations
Mr. Gutry brings to Graphite Bio extensive business development, strategy, finance and investor relations experience with a successful track record of raising capital and establishing partnerships for biotech companies.
Mr. Gutry most recently worked at Kronos Bio, a clinical-stage oncology company focused on targeting dysregulated transcription, where he served as chief business officer. In this role, he led the acquisition of Gilead's spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor portfolio, which transformed Kronos into a clinical-stage company and was the primary catalyst for raising $500M in equity capital, including the company’s Initial Public Offering. Previously, Mr. Gutry served in senior business development and finance roles at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, MPM Capital and Gilead Sciences during which he led or managed over 30 transactions raising over $2 billion in equity, debt, and R&D funding. Mr. Gutry also serves on the Board of Directors at Cerecor Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of products in rare pediatric and orphan diseases.
About Graphite Bio
Graphite Bio is a next-generation gene editing company focused on the development of potentially curative therapies for patients suffering from serious diseases. The company’s targeted DNA integration platform harnesses the natural cellular process of homology directed repair (HDR) to efficiently repair genetic defects at their source, deliver genetic cargo with precision and engineer new cellular effector functions. Graphite Bio is leveraging its differentiated platform to advance a portfolio of transformative treatments with potential for saving and dramatically improving patients’ lives. The company was co-founded by academic pioneers in the fields of gene editing and gene therapy, and is backed by Versant Ventures and Samsara BioCapital. For more information, please visit www.graphitebio.com.
