July 27 (Reuters) – Sarepta Therapeutics said on Monday it appointed former Tessera Therapeutics CEO Michael Severino its chief executive, effective July 28. The longtime AbbVie executive, will succeed Doug Ingram.
Shares of the company were up nearly 6% in premarket trading.
• The appointment of Severino, who will also join the rare disease drugmaker’s board, followed a board-led search after Ingram announced in February that he planned to step down, Sarepta said.
• Ingram, who has led Sarepta since 2017, will remain in an advisory role through the end of 2026 to support the transition.
• During Ingram’s tenure, Sarepta secured approvals for multiple Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatments; but its Elevidys, the first approved gene therapy for the disease, was linked to the deaths of two patients last year.
• The company also announced about 500 job cuts and discontinued several gene therapy programs for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.
• Before Tessera, Severino served as vice-chairman and president at AbbVie, overseeing research and development and corporate strategy. He has also held senior roles at Amgen and Merck.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
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