Our guest today is Nolan Townsend, the CEO of LEXEO Therapeutics, which focused on expanding the application of crisper gene therapies past rare diseases where they’ve generally been applied to more prevalent kinds of diseases.
What got me excited for the talk was the enthusiasm that Nolan expressed for the application of genetic therapies to more common diseases, which is where all the costs live. This could have a very broad impact on society’s healthcare systems.
We’ll discuss:
· What are the genetic medicines that are currently out there and which diseases are they intended to heal?
· What gene editing, gene therapy, and gene silencing are and how they are different
· Their process for choosing the diseases they are trying to remediate (assessing patient impact, etc.)
· The safety of AAV being linked to the dose and viral load
· How dosing for gene therapy varies across bodily systems
· Their unique approach to Friedreich's ataxia
· Their study on Alzheimer’s Disease and the progress that is being made
· Genetic medicine pricing and costs relative to other treatment options
· R&D spending, the financial downturn, and the plight of being beholden to the capital markets
Enjoy the show!
About R. Nolan Townsend
R. Nolan Townsend has served as LEXEO Therapeutics Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors since January 2020. LEXEO Therapeutics is a New York City-based, clinical stage biotechnology company that aims to apply the transformational science of gene therapy to address some of the world’s most devastating genetic diseases.
Prior to LEXEO, Mr. Townsend held roles as President, Pfizer Rare Disease for the North America region and President, Pfizer Rare Disease for the International markets; overseeing overall strategy, the cross functional organization and operating budget in those regions. Mr. Townsend has over a decade of experience with Pfizer first joining the company in Corporate Finance and subsequently in roles of increasing responsibility across Corporate Finance, Corporate Strategy, Operations, Marketing, General Management and Commercial leadership in Pfizer’s New York headquarters, Asia, Africa/Middle East and Europe. Prior to Pfizer, Mr. Townsend worked in the healthcare investment banking group at Lehman Brothers, advising healthcare companies on strategic financing transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Townsend serves on the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s Life Sciences Advisory Council and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Life Science Cares New York.
Mr. Townsend received his Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website and podcast are purely informational and not considered investment recommendations. Tim Dougherty’s participation in Biotech Insights is separate and apart from his role as an investment advisor representative. Nothing contained herein may be construed as a recommendation or endorsement of any of the companies discussed. Tim Dougherty has no financial affiliation with any of the companies mentioned in this communication. Tim Dougherty makes no representation that the information conveyed in this material is accurate and is under no obligation to update this information as changes occur.
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