September 12, 2023 — AAVantgarde Bio (AAVantgarde), a clinical-stage, Italian-based international biotechnology company with two proprietary Adeno-Associated Viral (AAV) vector platforms for large gene delivery, today announced the appointment of Doug Kerr, MD/Ph.D./MBA as a Non-Executive Director, effective immediately. Dr. Kerr serves as Chief Medical Officer of Generation Bio, a biotechnology company innovating genetic medicines for people living with rare and prevalent diseases.
“Doug brings a wealth of leadership and drug development experience in the gene therapy field from his current tenure at Generation Bio as well as from his time at Shire and Biogen. He has a deep understanding of rare disease therapeutics and led the development of Spinraza™, a therapy approved for spinal muscular atrophy,” said Dr. Natalia Misciattelli, Chief Executive Officer of AAVantgarde. “His broad experience will be invaluable as we look to apply our technologies more broadly and open up the opportunities for underserved patients suffering from debilitating diseases.”
“I am delighted to be joining the Board of Directors at AAVantgarde,” said Dr. Kerr. “The Company is based on very rigorous science and has the potential to enable AAV to treat diseases previously unavailable to gene therapy, and the application of this science to diseases both in the retina and in other therapeutic areas is exciting and important.”
Prior to Generation Bio, Dr. Kerr served as Vice President overseeing neurology, gene therapy, and lysosomal storage disease programs at Shire. Before that he served in various roles in Clinical Development and Corporate Strategy at Biogen, where he led development programs for Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
Dr. Kerr completed his neurology residency and was an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with appointments in neurology as well as molecular microbiology and immunology. During his tenure at Johns Hopkins, he not only saw patients with motor neuron, spinal cord and neurodegenerative disorders, but he also ran a laboratory that investigated fundamental aspects of motor neuron/axon biology and neurodegeneration. Over the course of his career, Dr. Kerr has served as a trusted advisor to several biotechnology and nonprofit organizations through his participation in various board of director and scientific advisory positions.
Dr. Kerr received his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College, as well as his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Thomas Jefferson University. He obtained his MBA, with a specialization in entrepreneurship and finance from Northeastern University and holds a B.A. in biochemistry from Princeton University.
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