Acceleron Appoints Christopher Hite to its Board of Directors

Mr. Hite is currently Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman at Royalty Pharma. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma in March 2020, Chris was with Citi as Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking starting in 2008 and most recently served as Vice Chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA), a member of the BCMA Executive Operating Committee and Global Head of Healthcare. While at Citi, Mr. Hite was a key strategic adviser to Acceleron on its initial public offering in 2013 and on three subsequent follow-on equity offerings totaling more than $700 million in gross proceeds, along with other long-term corporate strategy matters.

“I’m thrilled that Chris is joining our Board, as his background and accomplishments make him a particularly strong addition,” said Francois Nader, M.D., Chairman of Acceleron Pharma. “His extensive experience with the industry and his level of familiarity with Acceleron’s corporate priorities should enable him to have an immediate positive impact.”

For more than 24 years, Mr. Hite advised hundreds of healthcare companies on projects ranging from mergers and acquisitions to capital formation. He has worked with some of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies, including Roche, GSK, Shire, Johnson & Johnson, Celgene, Gilead, Astellas, and Tesaro. Earlier in his career, Chris was Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers. He serves on the Board of Advisors of Faster Cures, a center of the Milken Institute. Mr. Hite holds a B.S. from Lehigh University and a J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.

“It’s a privilege to join the Board of Acceleron, a company that I have enjoyed working with as it has grown into a significant biopharmaceutical company over the last few years,” said Mr. Hite. “The organization’s fundamentals, recent successes, and promising pipeline are all quite impressive. I’m delighted to be in a position to help the company continue to maximize its remarkable potential.”

About Acceleron

Acceleron is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. Acceleron’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 commercialization, research, and development efforts in hematologic and pulmonary diseases. In hematology, Acceleron and its global collaboration partner, Bristol Myers Squibb, are co-promoting REBLOZYL^® (luspatercept-aamt), the first and only approved erythroid maturation agent, in the United States for the treatment of anemia in certain blood disorders. The Companies are also developing luspatercept for the treatment of anemia in patient populations of MDS, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. In pulmonary, Acceleron is developing sotatercept for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, having recently reported positive topline results of the Phase 2 PULSAR trial.

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

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