BEDFORD, Mass., July 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Homology Medicines, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIXX), a genetic medicines company, announced today that Alise Reicin, M.D., has been appointed to its Board of Directors. Dr. Reicin is the President, Global Clinical Development at Celgene Corporation where she is responsible for mid- to late-stage clinical development across Celgene’s portfolio and is a member of the company’s Executive Committee. Dr. Reicin’s industry experience spans more than 25 years with leadership roles at Merck and Merck KGaA’s biopharmaceutical business, EMD Serono. Among her many accomplishments in directing initial clinical development and regulatory filings worldwide, Dr. Reicin’s leadership contributed to the first approval of KEYTRUDA® in the United States.

“Alise’s appointment to Homology’s Board is timely, given our recent transition to a clinical stage company that just initiated a Phase 1/2 gene therapy trial,” said Arthur Tzianabos, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Homology Medicines. “We very much welcome Alise and her many years of experience leading global clinical development, clinical operations, biostatistics, program leadership and management that will help guide the advancement of our dual gene therapy and editing platform to help patients with rare genetic diseases.”

Prior to her role at Celgene, Dr. Reicin was the Senior Vice President, Head of Global Clinical Development at EMD Serono where she led both early and late clinical development across their entire portfolio. Prior to EMD Serono, she was Vice President, Project and Pipeline Leadership, Oncology Franchise at Merck. In this role, she directed the PD-1 program, including initial global clinical development and regulatory activities, and established early- and late-stage development plans in multiple indications across oncology. Earlier at Merck, Dr. Reicin held roles of increasing responsibility in research and development, including her tenure as the Head of a Transformational Task Force for late clinical development. Prior to Merck, she was on the faculty at Columbia Medical School and a physician and researcher at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Dr. Reicin has a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, where she was enrolled in the Health Sciences and Technology program with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Barnard College of Columbia University.

“I was looking for an opportunity to join the board of a company on the cusp of establishing clinical proof of concept for a technology that could help usher in a new era in medicine,” said Alise Reicin, M.D., President, Global Clinical Development at Celgene Corporation. “I believe that Homology meets this profile based on its approach to developing genetic medicines that provide a distinct and strategic advantage over other modalities, and I am eager to work with management and the Board to maximize the value of this platform.”

The Company also announced that Cameron Wheeler, Ph.D., Partner at Deerfield and a member of Homology’s Board since 2017, has stepped down from the Board.

Commenting on Dr. Wheeler’s departure, Dr. Tzianabos said, “We would like to thank Cam for his guidance and continued support of Homology from its inception and rapid progression to a clinical stage company in just over three years.”

About the pheNIX Phase 1/2 Clinical Study in PKU
Homology’s proprietary suite of human hematopoietic stem cell-derived adeno-associated virus vectors (AAVHSCs) are designed to deliver a functional copy of the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene to the liver cells, where there is a missing or mutated PAH gene. This in vivo gene therapy approach is intended to enable the production of the PAH enzyme responsible for metabolizing Phe. People with PKU are not able to metabolize Phe properly, resulting in significantly elevated and potentially toxic levels of Phe, and if left untreated, PKU can lead to severe neurological impairment. Phe reduction is an established clinical endpoint for PKU registrational trials. Homology is conducting a Phase 1/2 gene therapy study of HMI-102 in adults with PKU, called pheNIX. Additional information about the pheNIX study can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Homology Medicines, Inc.

Homology Medicines, Inc. is a genetic medicines company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients suffering from rare genetic diseases with significant unmet medical needs by curing the underlying cause of the disease. Homology’s proprietary platform is designed to utilize its human hematopoietic stem cell-derived adeno-associated virus vectors (AAVHSCs) to precisely and efficiently deliver genetic medicines in vivo either through a gene therapy or nuclease-free gene editing modality across a broad range of genetic disorders. Homology has a management team with a successful track record of discovering, developing and commercializing therapeutics with a particular focus on rare diseases, and intellectual property covering its suite of 15 AAVHSCs. Homology believes that its compelling preclinical data, scientific expertise, product development strategy, manufacturing capabilities and intellectual property position it as a leader in the development of genetic medicines. For more information, please visit www.homologymedicines.com.