Bristol Myers Squibb and seasoned biotechnology veteran Donald Hayden, M.B.A., appointed as Chairman of the Latus Board of Directors
Former Chief Financial Officer of Avidity Biosciences Michael MacLean appointed as independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee
Appointments come as Latus advances its lead programs into clinical trials, including LTS-101 for CLN2 disease and LTS-201 for Huntington’s disease
PHILADELPHIA & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Latus Bio, Inc. (Latus), a biotechnology company engineering gene therapies at scale, today announced the appointments of Donald Hayden, M.B.A., as Chairman and Michael MacLean as independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Latus Board of Directors. Mr. Hayden and Mr. MacLean bring decades of executive leadership experience in driving successful biopharmaceutical companies through key value inflection points and delivering advanced medicines for rare disease patients with high unmet needs. Their appointments come as Latus transitions into a clinical stage company and advances its pipeline of investigational AAV gene therapies for central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral disorders.
"We are delighted to welcome Don and Mike to our Board at such a pivotal time for Latus. Don’s track record of building and chairing successful biotechnology companies, together with Mike’s deep operating, financial, and transactions expertise, will be invaluable as we advance our two lead programs into the clinic. Their experiences in scaling platform companies into pipelines of approved medicines will help Latus to realize its mission of delivering disease-modifying therapies for patients with genetically defined diseases," said P. Peter Ghoroghchian, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Latus Bio.
"Latus is pursuing one of the most differentiated approaches in gene therapy with its novel and highly specific AAV capsid variants that enable low-dose delivery to disease-relevant tissues and cell types. With two lead programs advancing into clinical development and a platform built to address a broad range of other disorders, I am honored to join this exceptional team and to help guide the Company through its next phase of growth," said Donald Hayden, M.B.A., Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Hayden brings more than four decades of biopharmaceutical leadership experience across both large pharmaceutical and emerging biotechnology companies. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, a position he has held since 2008. Mr. Hayden has previously served as the Chairman of numerous biotechnology companies, including Insmed, REGENXBIO, Amicus Therapeutics, Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Areteia Therapeutics, WindMIL Therapeutics, Dimension Therapeutics, and Gloucester Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he spent 25 years at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he held roles of increasing responsibility, culminating as President, Global Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Hayden received his M.B.A. from Indiana University and his B.A. from Harvard University.
The company further announced the addition of Michael MacLean to its Board of Directors. Mr. MacLean brings extensive leadership experience across the life sciences industry. He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Avidity Biosciences, leading the company through its acquisition by Novartis in 2026 for $12B+. He currently serves as an Independent Director for CAMP4 Therapeutics and is on the Board of Research Alliance Corporation III. Mr. MacLean has previously served as an Independent Director of Verve Therapeutics through its acquisition by Eli Lilly in 2025 and as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at both Akcea Therapeutics and PureTech Health. Mr. MacLean served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer at Biogen Idec. He began his career in public accounting, including partner roles at KPMG and at Arthur Andersen, and received his B.S. from the Boston College Carroll School of Management.
“I am thrilled to join Latus and its highly driven and passionate team. The company’s AAV gene therapy pipeline and novel capsid variants hold tremendous potential for delivering meaningful therapeutic benefits for patients,” said Michael MacLean, Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Latus Bio. “The Company is rapidly approaching key clinical inflection points and is poised for tremendous growth.”
About Latus Bio
Latus is a biotechnology company dedicated to addressing devastating CNS and peripheral diseases via innovative and scalable gene therapies. The Company is advancing a broad therapeutics pipeline based on novel AAV capsid variants with potency and specificity. Latus is powered by a diverse team of visionary scientists, experienced clinicians, and leading industry executives. The Company has offices in Philadelphia, PA and in the Seaport in Boston, MA. For more information, visit www.latusbio.com.
Contacts
Investor Contact
info@latusbio.com
Media Contact
media@latusbio.com
