January 23, 2023
Damon R. Race, President & CEO
RALEIGH, NC – GeneVentiv Therapeutics, a pre-clinical gene therapy company focused on blood diseases and disorders, today announced that it has expanded the Company’s management team and board of directors with the addition of Paris Margaritis, DPhil, an expert in AAV gene therapy for hemophilia with special focus on hemophilia with inhibitors as consulting Chief Scientific Officer (CSO); and the addition to the board of directors of Rob Limehouse, M.S., a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits, including the recent sale of InTouch Pharmacy, a specialty hemophilia infusion pharmacy, to United Health/OptumRx.
“We are extremely proud to have Paris and Rob join our team,” commented Damon Race, CEO of GeneVentiv Therapeutics. “Paris and Rob bring a wealth of business and gene therapy experience to our team. Paris is already using his tremendous experience in pre-clinical, hemophilia gene therapy development to highlight our durability and advance the development of our gene therapy for hemophilia A or B with or without inhibitors; Rob successfully built and sold several businesses including a specialty hemophilia infusion pharmacy. This gives Rob first-hand experience with hemophilia patients and their families and a deep appreciation of the potential of our therapies to help those suffering from hemophilia and associated complications of the disease. Both leaders will provide valuable business and hemophilia gene therapy development counsel to GeneVentiv as we complete our pre-clinical development and prepare to work on our IND.”
Dr. Margaritis is the consulting CSO of GeneVentiv Therapeutics. Dr. Margaritis received his doctorate degree from the University of Oxford (U.K.) and has more than 25 years of experience in AAV gene therapy for hemophilia with special focus on hemophilia with inhibitors. During his career at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, he has worked extensively with novel gene-based therapies in all the animal models of hemophilia, bridging coagulation factor biochemistry with transgene engineering and AAV delivery in vivo. He is currently coordinating biotech-sponsored ocular AAV gene therapy programs and continues to be a contributing member of the major hemostasis and gene therapy Societies.
Mr. Limehouse brings over 27 years of executive level healthcare business leadership experience. He has a successful track record of leading and growing startups from launch to exit, with two exits including a healthcare startup and a hemophilia specialty infusion pharmacy in the past 10 years. Through his hemophilia infusion pharmacy business experience, Mr. Limehouse built a robust network of relationships with stakeholders from patients, patient advocacy groups, healthcare providers and payors to pharmaceutical executives in the hemophilia community. Mr. Limehouse brings an array of insights into the needs patients combined with experience in hemophilia patient advocacy, M&A, sales, marketing and reimbursement expertise. Mr. Limehouse holds a B.S. in Medical Technology and a M.S. in Physical Therapy.
About GeneVentiv Therapeutics:
GeneVentiv Therapeutics is a pre-clinical gene therapy company focused on blood diseases and disorders. Our lead program, GENV-HEM, is the first durable, universal gene therapy treatment for Hemophilia A and B with or without inhibitors. GENV-HEM has received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA and a Letter of Support from the National Hemophilia Foundation. GeneVentiv is advancing an additional gene therapy for Hemophilia Arthropathy, a degenerative joint disease afflicting roughly 50% of patients with hemophilia.