Acceleron Announces Retirement of Director and Co-Founder Tom Maniatis

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Acceleron Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq:XLRN), a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of TGF-beta superfamily therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases, announced today that company co-founder Tom Maniatis, PhD, is retiring from his position on its Board of Directors and will continue to serve the organization in an advisory capacity as Director Emeritus.

“Tom co-founded Acceleron in 2003 and has been on the Board from day one,” said Francois Nader, MD, Chairman of Acceleron Pharma. “During this period, Tom’s unparalleled scientific instincts and acumen were instrumental in turning a belief in the promise of a fundamental biological pathway into a company on the verge of delivering its first product to patients. We can’t thank Tom enough for all he has done for Acceleron.”

Dr. Maniatis is a co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Scientific Director of the New York Genome Center, the Isidore Edelman Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a member of the Zuckerman Mind Brain & Behavior Institute at Columbia University. With multiple prestigious scientific honors to his name, he is also a pioneer in the biotechnology industry, having co-founded Genetics Institute in 1980, ProScript in 1994, and Kallyope Pharma in 2016.

“Tom truly is a living legend in the life sciences,” said Habib Dable, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acceleron. “It’s inconceivable that Acceleron would be what it is today without his tremendous contributions, and so, while I wish him well as he retires from the Board, I’m delighted that we’ll continue to benefit from his insights as a scientific advisor to Acceleron.”

“It’s been a privilege to be a part of Acceleron from the beginning, helping the company realize the potential of the TGF-beta superfamily in the treatment of blood, musculoskeletal, and fibrotic diseases,” said Dr. Maniatis. “I am especially pleased with the development of luspatercept for the treatment of beta-thalassemia, a longstanding interest of mine since my laboratory cloned and characterized the human beta-globin gene cluster and characterized beta-thalassemia mutations nearly 40 years ago. I look forward to continuing my association with Acceleron in my new role, and focusing on science.”

Luspatercept is an investigational therapy that is not approved for any use in any country.

About Luspatercept

Luspatercept is a first-in-class erythroid maturation agent that regulates late-stage red blood cell maturation. Acceleron and Celgene are jointly developing luspatercept as part of a global collaboration. A Phase 3 trial (COMMANDS) in ESA-naïve, lower-risk MDS patients, the BEYOND Phase 2 trial in non-transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, and a Phase 2 trial in myelofibrosis are ongoing. For more information, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Acceleron

Acceleron is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. The Company's leadership in the understanding of TGF-beta superfamily biology and protein engineering generates innovative compounds that engage the body's ability to regulate cellular growth and repair.

Acceleron focuses its research and development efforts in hematologic, neuromuscular, and pulmonary diseases. In hematology, the Company and its global collaboration partner, Celgene, are developing luspatercept for the treatment of chronic anemia in myelodysplastic syndromes, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. Acceleron is also advancing its neuromuscular program with ACE-083, a locally-acting Myostatin+ agent in Phase 2 development in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and is conducting a Phase 2 pulmonary program with sotatercept in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

For more information, please visit www.acceleronpharma.com. Follow Acceleron on social media: @AcceleronPharma and LinkedIn.

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