TOKYO, LONDON and BOSTON, May 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orchard Therapeutics, recently acquired by Kyowa Kirin with the goal of accelerating the delivery of new gene therapies to patients around the globe, today announced that Bobby Gaspar, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer, has been named to the inaugural 2024 TIME100 Health, an annual list recognizing the impact, innovation, and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals in health this year. The full list and related tributes will appear in the May 13, 2024 issue of TIME and is available online at https://time.com/collection/time100-health/.

“I am incredibly humbled, privileged, and immensely proud to be included on this esteemed list of influential and accomplished people shaping the future of health care,” said Dr. Gaspar. “While these accolades are often attributed to individuals, I truly believe this honor extends to the entire team at Orchard Therapeutics and our global network of clinical and academic collaborators. It is because of your collective efforts that we are transforming the treatment landscape for previously intractable diseases, and I share this recognition with all of you.”

Dr. Gaspar is a world-renowned physician and scientist, as well as an accomplished executive with more than 30 years of experience in medicine and biotechnology. He has been a pioneer in the evolution of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy—bringing it from some of the first studies in patients into late-stage clinical trials, and ultimately through Orchard’s first regulatory approvals in Europe and the U.S., enabling the delivery of these potentially transformative medicines to eligible children. His unparalleled expertise and deep relationships with key physicians and treatment centers around the world are integral to Orchard’s efforts to identify patients with severe genetic diseases through targeted disease education, early diagnosis and comprehensive newborn screening. Dr. Gaspar is an honorary professor of pediatrics and immunology at the University College London (UCL) Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. He studied medicine and surgery at Kings College in London before completing his Ph.D. at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

“Bobby is a visionary and authentic leader who inspires the very best in his colleagues and peers,” said Frank Thomas, president and chief operating officer of Orchard Therapeutics. “He is a tremendous ambassador for the entire field of HSC gene therapy, and I am thrilled his indelible contributions to the advancement of human health are being recognized though his inclusion on this prestigious list. Throughout his career, Bobby has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to patient care—first as a physician treating children with devastating genetic diseases, then as a clinical academic who led multiple trials that have shown HSC gene therapy can successfully correct the underlying cause of these conditions, and now as a pioneering executive working to unlock the full potential of this approach to deliver life-changing therapies to patients in need. I am fortunate to call Bobby my friend and business partner and appreciate the editors of TIME for bestowing him with this well-deserved honor.”

“Bobby and I have a personal and professional relationship spanning decades, and I am delighted to see this acknowledgement of his accomplishments from a venerable mainstream media institution,” said Donald Kohn, M.D., distinguished professor of Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics and Pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), member of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, and director of the UCLA Human Gene and Cell Therapy Program. “Bobby boldly left a fulfilling career in academia to translate the scientific breakthroughs we were originating in our labs into paradigm-shifting medicines that can be delivered at scale. This was an audacious endeavor and success was anything but certain; however, it is because of Bobby’s leadership that companies like Orchard Therapeutics have made significant strides turning that vision into reality. Congratulations, Bobby, and thank you for helping carry the mantel for the broader HSC gene therapy field.”

About Orchard Therapeutics
Orchard Therapeutics, a Kyowa Kirin company, is a global gene therapy leader focused on ending the devastation caused by genetic and other severe diseases by discovering, developing, and commercializing new treatments that tap into the curative potential of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy. In this approach, a patient’s own blood stem cells are genetically modified outside of the body and then reinserted, with the goal of correcting the underlying cause of disease with a single treatment.

Founded in 2015, Orchard’s roots go back to some of the first research and clinical developments involving HSC gene therapy. Our team has played a central role in the evolution of this technology from a promising scientific idea to a potentially life-transforming reality. Today, Orchard is advancing a pipeline of HSC gene therapies designed to address serious diseases where the burden is immense for patients, families and society and current treatment options are limited or do not exist.

For more information, please visit www.orchard-tx.com.

About Kyowa Kirin
Kyowa Kirin aims to discover novel medicines with life-changing value. As a Japan-based Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Company, we have invested in drug discovery and biotechnology innovation for more than 70 years and are currently working to engineer the next generation of antibodies and cell and gene therapies with the potential to help patients affected by a severe or rare disease. A shared commitment to our values, to sustainable growth, and to making people smile unites us across our four regions – Japan, Asia Pacific, North America, and EMEA/International. You can learn more about the business of Kyowa Kirin at www.kyowakirin.com.

Contact

Benjamin Navon
+1 857-248-9454
Benjamin.Navon@orchard-tx.com