Passage Bio Announces Maxine Gowen, Ph.D., as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Passage Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: PASG), a clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on developing transformative therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today reported that Maxine Gowen, Ph.D., has been appointed chairwoman of the board of directors for the company, effective August 31.

Dr. Gowen is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive who has deep operational and research and development experience. Dr. Gowen has been a member of Passage Bio’s board since February 2021 and currently serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She will continue to serve on this committee in her capacity as board chairwoman.

“I am delighted that Maxine will be leading our board of directors following the unexpected passing of our former Chairman Dr. Tadataka Yamada,” said Bruce Goldsmith, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer (CEO), Passage Bio. “With more than 30 years of experience across pharma and biotech in research and as a CEO, Maxine is immensely qualified to serve as chairwoman. Her experience will be invaluable to Passage Bio as we advance our robust pipeline of transformative medicines through clinical development with the goal of getting them to patients who need them as quickly as possible.”

Dr. Gowen said, “I am honored to continue the work started by Tachi Yamada as I assume the role of board chairwoman for Passage Bio. This is a unique company with tremendous promise in developing truly innovative genetic medicines for patients who have devastating CNS disorders with few therapeutic options. I could not be more excited to be part of Passage Bio’s journey at such a pivotal stage in its evolution.”

Dr. Gowen is chief executive officer of Tamuro Bio, a role that she has held since July 2019. Prior to Tamuro Bio, she was the founding president and chief executive officer of Trevena, Inc. from 2007 to October 2018. Previously she held a variety of leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, over a period of 15 years. As senior vice president for GSK’s Center of Excellence for Drug Discovery, she developed an innovative new approach to externalizing drug discovery. She also currently serves on the boards of directors for Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merus N.V., and the private company Tamuro Bio.

Dr. Gowen graduated with a B.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Bristol, U.K., received a Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Sheffield, U.K., and received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About Passage Bio

At Passage Bio (Nasdaq: PASG), we are on a mission to provide life-transforming genetic medicines for patients with CNS diseases that replace their suffering with boundless possibility, all while building lasting relationships with the communities we serve. Based in Philadelphia, PA, our company has established a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with the renowned University of Pennsylvania’s Gene Therapy Program to conduct our discovery and IND-enabling preclinical work. This provides our team with enhanced access to a broad portfolio of gene therapy candidates and future gene therapy innovations that we then pair with our deep clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and commercial expertise to rapidly advance our robust pipeline of optimized gene therapies into clinical testing. As we work with speed and tenacity, we are always mindful of patients who may be able to benefit from our therapies. More information is available at www.passagebio.com.

For further information, please contact:

Investors:
Stuart Henderson
Passage Bio
267.866.0114
shenderson@passagebio.com

Media:
Gwen Fisher
Passage Bio
215.407.1548
gfisher@passagebio.com