BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: STOK), a biotechnology company dedicated to addressing the underlying cause of severe diseases by upregulating protein expression with RNA-based medicines, today announced the appointment of Thomas (Tommy) Leggett as Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Mr. Leggett will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Company’s financial strategy and operations. Mr. Leggett succeeds Stephen Tulipano, CPA, MBA, who resigned his position as Stoke’s Chief Financial Officer effective Tuesday, May 7.
“I want to thank Mr. Tulipano for his contributions to Stoke over the past five years. He has led multiple financings, including Stoke’s highly successful Initial Public Offering in 2019 and the recent $125M public offering and leaves the Company well positioned to execute on our goal of delivering the first potential disease-modifying therapy to patients with Dravet syndrome,” said Edward M. Kaye, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Stoke Therapeutics. “We welcome Mr. Leggett to Stoke and look forward to working with him to build on this strong foundation as Stoke enters a new phase of growth, starting with advancing STK-001 into a registrational study and looking ahead to developing our pipeline of potential disease-modifying medicines.”
"The recently announced landmark data from the studies of STK-001 for the treatment of Dravet syndrome mark the start of a very exciting time for Stoke as it transitions to a late-stage clinical company while building a commercial organization,” said Mr. Leggett. “I look forward to working with the Stoke leadership team and share their deep commitment to Stoke’s mission of delivering novel new medicines to people living with severe diseases like Dravet syndrome.”
Mr. Leggett brings more than 20 years of experience as a biotechnology executive, board member and as an investment banker. He has led financial strategy and operations and secured financing for dozens of life science companies. Prior to joining Stoke, Mr. Leggett served as Chief Financial Officer at Affinia Therapeutics. Before joining Affinia Therapeutics, Mr. Leggett was Chief Financial Officer at Black Diamond Therapeutics, where he led the Company’s $85 million Series C financing and $231 million IPO. Before joining Black Diamond, Mr. Leggett served as Chief Financial Officer at Axcella Health, where he helped raise $156 million across three financings, including an IPO. Mr. Leggett spent more than a decade as an investment banker for the healthcare groups at J.P. Morgan Securities, Lazard Frères & Company, and UBS Securities. Mr. Leggett also currently serves on the board of directors of Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd.
Mr. Leggett holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Columbia University.
About Stoke Therapeutics
Stoke Therapeutics (Nasdaq: STOK), is a biotechnology company dedicated to addressing the underlying cause of severe diseases by upregulating protein expression with RNA-based medicines. Using Stoke’s proprietary TANGO (Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene Output) approach, Stoke is developing antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to selectively restore protein levels. Stoke’s first compound, STK-001, is in clinical testing for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a severe and progressive genetic epilepsy. Dravet syndrome is one of many diseases caused by a haploinsufficiency, in which a loss of ~50% of normal protein levels leads to disease. Stoke is pursuing the development of STK-002 for the treatment of autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA), the most common inherited optic nerve disorder. Stoke’s initial focus is haploinsufficiencies and diseases of the central nervous system and the eye, although proof of concept has been demonstrated in other organs, tissues, and systems, supporting its belief in the broad potential for its proprietary approach. Stoke is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://www.stoketherapeutics.com/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, the ability of STK-001 to treat the underlying cause of Dravet syndrome, and the timing and expected progress of clinical trials, regulatory decisions and successful development of STK-001. Statements including words such as “will,” “expect,” “plan,” and “potential” and statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they prove incorrect or do not fully materialize, could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to: the Company’s ability to advance, obtain regulatory approval of, and ultimately commercialize its product candidates, including STK-001; positive results in a clinical trial may not be replicated in subsequent trials; successes in early stage trials may not be predictive of results in later stage trials; the Company’s ability to fund development activities and achieve development goals; and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and the other documents it files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
