Sangamo Therapeutics Appoints Rob Schott, MD, MPH, FACC, as Head of Development; Elevates Jason Fontenot, PhD to Chief Scientific Officer
BRISBANE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO), a genomic medicine company, announced today the appointment of Rob Schott, MD, MPH, FACC, as Senior Vice President and Head of Development. Dr. Schott will lead clinical strategy across all phases of development and regulatory approval and will report to Sandy Macrae, Sangamo’s Chief Executive Officer. Sangamo also announced today that, effective January 1, 2021, Jason Fontenot, PhD, has been promoted to Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Fontenot has served as Sangamo’s Head of Cell Therapy since March 2019 and as the acting Interim Head of Research since June 2020.
“I am delighted to welcome Rob to Sangamo at this important time when we expect a steady flow of data readouts from our ongoing clinical trials and are focused on clinical execution,” said Dr. Macrae. “Rob’s leadership capabilities and drug development experience will help Sangamo advance our late-stage pipeline and prioritize our development efforts on programs with the highest likelihood to produce best- or first-in-class products.”
Prior to joining Sangamo, Dr. Schott served as the Chief Medical Officer at Chorus, an autonomous early-phase development engine inside of Eli Lilly, where he oversaw teams working to expand Eli Lilly’s pipeline. Earlier in his career, Dr. Schott served as Cardiovascular Department Chair and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Sutter Medical Center Sacramento while continuing to care for patients as an invasive cardiologist. Dr. Schott received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan. He trained in cardiovascular medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital after working as a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard Medical School.
“Jason has contributed significantly to Sangamo with his wealth of experience in Tregs, lymphocyte biology, cell engineering and immune-mediated disease. This new role enables Jason to continue building upon our heritage in genomic and cellular science. Jason and the Research team will be essential partners to Rob and the Development team in advancing our differentiated technology to support a robust clinical pipeline,” Dr. Macrae said.
In June 2020, Sangamo announced its decision to separate research and development into discrete functions to increase the speed and efficiency of translating ground-breaking science into genomic medicine.
About Sangamo Therapeutics
Sangamo Therapeutics is committed to translating ground-breaking science into genomic medicines with the potential to transform patients’ lives using gene therapy, cell therapy, and genome engineering. For more information about Sangamo, visit www.sangamo.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Sangamo's current expectations. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the potential to develop, obtain regulatory approvals for and commercialize therapies to treat genetic diseases and the timing thereof, anticipated plans and timelines of Sangamo and its collaborators for conducting clinical trials and sharing clinical data and other statements that are not historical fact. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Sangamo’s actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global business environment, healthcare systems and the business and operations of Sangamo and its collaborators; and the uncertain timing of clinical trials. These risks and uncertainties are described more fully in Sangamo's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including in Sangamo’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and Sangamo undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.