PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iECURE, a gene editing company focused on mutation-agnostic in vivo gene insertion, or knock-in, editing for the treatment of liver disorders with significant unmet need, today announced the appointment of Gabriel M. Cohn, M.D., MBA as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Cohn will lead iECURE’s clinical strategy for the company’s pipeline of in vivo gene editing therapies, including those designed to treat Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, citrullinemia type 1 (CTLN1), and phenylketonuria (PKU).
“Gabe’s experience in clinical development as a CMO will be crucial as we begin the process of global regulatory submissions and patient dosing. His diverse experiences in clinical development and gene therapy paired with a robust understanding of genetic disorders and leadership roles in the industry make him the ideal person to take the reins of our expanding clinical team,” said Joseph Truitt, Chief Executive Officer of iECURE.
Dr. Cohn brings more than 30 years of experience in academic medicine as well as in the biotechnology industry, where he has contributed to the development of multiple therapeutics for the treatment of rare genetic disorders. Previously, he served as the Chief Medical Officer of Homology Medicines where he led the company’s Phase 1/2 gene therapy trial for PKU and supported two investigational new drug (IND) submissions to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company’s gene editing programs. Before joining Homology, he served as Vice President of Clinical Development at AVROBIO, leading clinical programs, protocol design, regulatory filings, FDA and Health Canada interactions and trial site identification and initiations. He has also served in executive leadership roles at OvaScience and Shire. Dr. Cohn is a Fellow of the American College of Genetics and Genomics (FACMG) and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), author of over 40 peer-reviewed publications, and served as the Chief of Clinical and Reproductive Genetics and Medical Director, Genetic Services at Baystate Medical Center and as Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. He earned his M.D. from SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse and MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He completed a residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at SUNY HSC at Syracuse and a fellowship in Medical Genetics at the National Institutes of Health.
“It’s a great privilege to join the iECURE team of incredibly successful and seasoned biopharma professionals who have a long track record of developing approved life-altering treatments, while also having an opportunity to collaborate with one of the world’s premier centers of leadership and innovation in the field of genetic therapeutics,” said Dr. Cohn. “They are at the forefront of advancing innovative approaches to gene editing that hold great promise for patients in need, and at this important time of growth and development, I look forward to working with the team and leading our clinical efforts in our goal to successfully treat rare genetic disorders including OTC, CTLN1, and PKU.”
About iECURE
iECURE is a gene editing company focused on developing therapies that utilize mutation-agnostic in vivo gene insertion, or knock-in, editing for the treatment of liver disorders with significant unmet need. We believe our approach has the potential to replace and restore the function of a dysfunctional gene by knocking-in a healthy copy, regardless of mutation, to offer durable gene expression and long-term, potentially curative, therapeutic benefit. Our management team has extensive experience in executing global orphan drug and gene therapy clinical trials and successfully commercializing multiple products. We intend to leverage our team’s core strength in research and development strategy to identify what we believe to be the most suitable target and modality for our product candidates to address particular liver diseases. We are collaborating with the University of Pennsylvania’s Gene Therapy Program, or GTP, led by James M. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., to utilize GTP’s world-class translational expertise and infrastructure, which has helped generate our initial pipeline of potential product candidates. For more information, visit www.iecure.com and follow on LinkedIn.
