Gossamer Bio Announces Appointment of New Independent Directors

“It is a pleasure to welcome Josh, Russ, Renée and Vincent to the Gossamer Board of Directors as we continue to build out and advance our program portfolio and expand our footprint in the life science community,” said Sheila Gujrathi, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Gossamer Bio. “Their deep and varied experience will be hugely helpful as we continue to build momentum and pursue multiple near-term milestones and beyond.”

“On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank Richard, Bob and Michael for their invaluable contributions, input and support over what has been an incredible first year for Gossamer,” said Faheem Hasnain, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Gossamer Bio. “They were all critical to Gossamer’s embarkation on its mission of improving the lives of patients who are suffering from disease.”

Dr. Joshua H. Bilenker, founder of Loxo Oncology, Inc., has served as Loxo’s President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2013. Dr. Bilenker joined Aisling Capital LLC, an investment firm, in April 2006 and has served as an Operating Partner since November 2013. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Bilenker served as a Medical Officer at the FDA in the Office of Oncology. Dr. Bilenker trained at the University of Pennsylvania in internal medicine and medical oncology, earning board certification in these specialties. He received his M.D. from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and his A.B. degree in English from Princeton University.

Russell J. Cox has served as Chief Executive Officer at Vital Therapies, Inc. since January 2018. Prior to joining Vital, Mr. Cox served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, with responsibility for global commercial activities, R&D, manufacturing/technical operations, new product planning and global molecule leadership. Earlier, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer in addition to other senior management roles at Jazz. Prior to Jazz, Mr. Cox served as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Ipsen Group, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, focused in oncology, neuroscience and rare diseases. He was also Vice President of Marketing at Tercica, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Ipsen Group and served as Vice President, Marketing with Scios Inc., which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2003. Mr. Cox began his career at Genentech, Inc. where he was a Product Team Leader responsible for the growth hormone franchise and led numerous product launches as a Group Product Manager. Mr. Cox has served on the Board of Directors of Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. since 2015. Mr. Cox received a B.S. degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University.

Renée Galá brings more than 20 years of finance, corporate strategy, and leadership experience. Effective January 3, 2019, she will become Chief Financial Officer at GRAIL, Inc., a healthcare company focused on the early detection of cancer. Currently, Ms. Galá is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Theravance Biopharma following the company’s spinout from Theravance, Inc. Ms. Galá joined Theravance (now Innoviva, Inc.) and held various roles in the finance organization before leading the company’s spin-out transaction. Before Theravance, Ms. Galá worked at Eli Lilly and Company, where she held positions of increasing responsibility in global treasury, pharmaceutical sales, and corporate strategy/business development. Prior to joining Eli Lilly, she spent seven years in the energy industry in the United States and internationally in positions focused on corporate finance, project finance, and mergers and acquisitions. She is a member of the board of directors of Corcept Therapeutics Inc. Ms. Galá holds a B.S. in mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Dr. Vincent Xiang is a Managing Director at Hillhouse Capital, responsible for its global bio venture investments. Previously, he was a Partner at 6 Dimensions Capital and was Managing Director and Head of International Investments & Business Development at Humanwell Healthcare Group. Prior to that, he worked as Managing Director of Burrill Life Science Venture Capital Fund, and Portfolio Manager/Analyst at Franklin Templeton, investing in global life science companies across all development stages. Dr. Xiang holds a B.S. in microbiology and immunology from Fudan University, a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Stony Brook University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School.

About Gossamer Bio
Gossamer Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, acquiring, developing and commercializing therapeutics in the disease areas of immunology, inflammation and oncology. Its goal is to be an industry leader in each of these therapeutic areas and to enhance and extend the lives of patients suffering from such diseases. More information can be found at www.gossamerbio.com.

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