Gene therapy developer Passage Bio said it appointment Bruce Goldsmith, a neuroscientist with a history as a biopharmaceutical executive, as its CEO.
Goldsmith joins the company from Deerfield Management where he served as a venture partner and interim CEO of Civetta Therapeutics. He replaces Stephen Squinto, who co-founded Passage Bio and served as interim chief executive officer since 2018.
“Bruce is ideally suited to lead Passage Bio as chief executive officer given his strong neuroscience background coupled with his robust healthcare and biotechnology industry experience,” said Tadataka Yamada, Chairman of the Board of Passage Bio. “He has served in various leadership roles over the last 20 years, and the company will greatly benefit from his strategic insights, business development acumen and clinical development expertise.”
The Philadelphia-based company has a research collaboration and license agreement with the University of Pennsylvania and its Gene Therapy Program. Under the agreement, GTP conducts IND-enabling preclinical work and Passage Bio is responsible for clinical development, regulatory, strategy, and commercialization of therapies.
The company has a development portfolio of six product candidates, with the option to license six more, with lead programs in GM1 gangliosidosis, frontotemporal dementia and Krabbe disease.
Prior to his work at Deerfield, Goldsmith served as chief operating officer at Lycera, a company developing small molecules for immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease. While at Lycera he was responsible for business development, corporate and development strategy, and manufacturing.
Goldsmith also held senior positions at Allos Therapeutics and GPC Biotech as well as various strategic marketing and business development roles at Johnson & Johnson focused on oncology and virology. Bruce holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in biology from Colgate University.
Author: Rare Daily Staff
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