CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: WVE), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the broad potential of RNA medicines to transform human health, today announced the appointment of Erik Ingelsson, MD, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Ingelsson will drive Wave’s emerging therapeutic portfolio strategy, including growing its genetics and genomics capabilities for identifying new, high impact targets, and leveraging the company’s best-in-class multimodal discovery and development platform to advance transformative RNA medicines. Most recently, Dr. Ingelsson served as Senior Vice President, Head of Target Discovery, at GSK.

“Our mission to unlock the broad potential of RNA medicines requires us to combine the capabilities of our best-in-class oligonucleotide platform with novel drug targets informed by human genetics. Dr. Ingelsson brings to Wave deep expertise in genetics and drug discovery, as well as substantial experience in metabolic diseases. He will leverage his experience to accelerate identification of new genetic insights and rapidly translate those insights into RNA medicines at Wave, including with our wholly owned INHBE program for obesity,” said Paul Bolno, MD, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wave Life Sciences. “I am excited to welcome Dr. Ingelsson to our leadership team and look forward to his contributions, which will shape the future of our sustainable, diverse and impactful therapeutic pipeline across multiple modalities, including RNA editing and siRNA.”

While at GSK, Dr. Ingelsson led a team focused on a large-scale, industrialized approach to target discovery and validation, bringing together functional genomics, chemical biology, structural biology, protein and cellular sciences to drive drug discovery and development. His organization worked across all therapeutic areas at GSK.

Previously, Dr. Ingelsson was the SVP of Genomic Sciences at GSK, an organization with world-leading skills and capabilities in human genetics, computational biology, omics technologies and gene editing, responsible for harnessing the latest methods and technologies in genomics to discover and validate novel drug targets, and to drive more successful development of the next generation of medicines. Before joining GSK, Dr. Ingelsson was Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. His lab used human genetics and functional genomics to discover novel biology and drug targets related to insulin resistance and related conditions, such as obesity, MASH, and cardiovascular disease. His work combined large-scale human genetics studies with in-depth pre-clinical validation work and an emphasis on cardiometabolic diseases.

Dr. Ingelsson obtained his MD and PhD at Uppsala University, Sweden. After clinical internship and residency, he undertook postdoctoral research at the Framingham Heart Study before joining the faculty at Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden), where he was appointed Professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology. He was also Professor of Molecular Epidemiology at Uppsala University and was a visiting professor at Oxford University. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed original articles and has an h-index of 145.  

“Having gotten to know Wave through its collaboration with GSK, I have seen firsthand the enormous potential of its world-leading RNA therapeutics platform and its people to rapidly translate genetic insights into novel medicines,” said Dr. Ingelsson. “I am thrilled to join Wave during this incredibly exciting time with multiple near-term clinical data readouts approaching and a rapidly advancing INHBE program that exemplifies Wave’s ability to execute ahead of plan and accelerate a program with incredible potential to disrupt the obesity space and deliver value to patients and shareholders. Wave has built an extraordinary, innovative, and agile discovery team and I look forward to leading this talented organization through the next phase of the company’s evolution.”

In connection with Dr. Ingelsson joining Wave, he received a share option to purchase 350,000 ordinary shares of Wave and 12,000 restricted share units (RSU). The equity grants were approved by Wave’s Compensation Committee and were granted to Dr. Ingelsson on May 8, 2024, outside of the Wave Life Sciences Ltd. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, as an inducement material to Dr. Ingelsson’s commencing employment with Wave, in accordance with Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The option has an exercise price of $5.85 per share, the closing price on the grant date, and vests over four years with 25% vesting on May 8, 2025, and the remainder vesting in equal quarterly installments over the following three years. The RSU vests as to 100% of the shares on the first anniversary of the grant date.

About Wave Life Sciences
Wave Life Sciences (Nasdaq: WVE) is a biotechnology company focused on unlocking the broad potential of RNA medicines to transform human health. Wave’s RNA medicines platform, PRISM^®, combines multiple modalities, chemistry innovation and deep insights in human genetics to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and prevalent disorders. Its toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities includes editing, splicing, RNA interference and antisense silencing, providing Wave with unmatched capabilities for designing and sustainably delivering candidates that optimally address disease biology. Wave’s diversified pipeline includes clinical programs in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and Huntington’s disease, as well as a preclinical program in obesity. Driven by the calling to “Reimagine Possible,” Wave is leading the charge toward a world in which human potential is no longer hindered by the burden of disease. Wave is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more information on Wave’s science, pipeline and people, please visit www.wavelifesciences.com and follow Wave on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.  

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding Dr. Ingelsson’s leadership and expertise in genetics and drug discovery and how these capabilities may benefit Wave; beliefs that Dr. Ingelsson’s experience will accelerate identification of new genetic insights and the translation of those insights into RNA medicines; the anticipated timing and expectations for delivering data from our clinical trials; and the potential of our RNA medicines platform, and any benefits that may arise as a result thereof. The words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release and actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of these risks, uncertainties and important factors, including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Wave’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as amended, and in other filings Wave makes with the SEC from time to time. Wave undertakes no obligation to update the information contained in this press release to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.

Investor Contact:
Kate Rausch
+1 617-949-4827
krausch@wavelifesci.com

Media Contact:
Alicia Suter
+1 617-949-4817
asuter@wavelifesci.com