Generation Bio Names Phillip Samayoa, Ph.D. Chief Strategy Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Generation Bio Co. (Nasdaq: GBIO), a biotechnology company innovating genetic medicines for people living with rare and prevalent diseases, announced the promotion of Phillip Samayoa, Ph.D., to chief strategy officer. Dr. Samayoa has led strategy, corporate and portfolio development at Generation Bio since he joined the company in 2017, most recently serving as senior vice president.

“Phillip has been instrumental in building a holistic strategy for platform development that will enable its application to multiple genetic medicine modalities,” said Geoff McDonough, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Generation Bio. “In this new role Phillip will lead corporate strategy, business development and discovery research, enabling the integration of these key strategic activities.”

“We are leading the field of non-viral DNA therapeutics and targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery, and I am excited to further expand the opportunity space for Generation Bio’s unique technologies – closed-ended DNA, rapid enzymatic synthesis, and cell-targeted lipid nanoparticles,” said Dr. Samayoa. “I look forward to continue working with this great team to push the boundaries of our platform and maximize its potential benefit for patients.”

Phillip Samayoa co-founded Generation Bio as a principal at Atlas Venture, where he focused on genetic medicines and building novel platform therapeutics companies. While at Atlas, Dr. Samayoa also co-founded Dyne Therapeutics. Previously, he was director of MRL Ventures Fund at Merck, where he helped construct the strategic venture fund and led investments in early-stage companies including Alector, Translate Bio, and Spero Therapeutics. Prior to Merck, Dr. Samayoa was an associate at Flagship Pioneering where he was involved in building several startups, including Codiak BioSciences and Indigo Ag. Dr. Samayoa graduated from MIT with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biological Engineering and Physics, and earned his Ph.D. in Systems Biology from UC San Diego, where he was an NSF graduate research fellow.

About Generation Bio
Generation Bio is innovating genetic medicines to provide durable, redosable treatments for people living with rare and prevalent diseases. The company’s non-viral genetic medicine platform incorporates a novel DNA construct called closed-ended DNA, or ceDNA; a unique cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery system, or ctLNP; and a highly scalable capsid-free manufacturing process that uses proprietary cell-free rapid enzymatic synthesis, or RES, to produce ceDNA. The platform is designed to enable multi-year durability from a single dose, to deliver large genetic payloads, including multiple genes, to specific tissues, and to allow titration and redosing to adjust or extend expression levels in each patient. RES has the potential to expand Generation Bio’s manufacturing scale to hundreds of millions of doses to support its mission to extend the reach of genetic medicine to more people, living with more diseases, around the world.

For more information, please visit www.generationbio.com. 

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the company, including statements about our strategic plans or objectives, our technology platform, our research and clinical development plans, and preclinical data and other statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: uncertainties inherent in the identification and development of product candidates, including the conduct of research activities, the initiation and completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials and clinical development of the company’s product candidates; uncertainties as to the availability and timing of results from preclinical studies and clinical trials; whether results from earlier preclinical studies will be predictive of the results of later preclinical studies and clinical trials; uncertainties regarding the RES manufacturing process; expectations for regulatory approvals to conduct trials or to market products; challenges in the manufacture of genetic medicine products; whether the company’s cash resources are sufficient to fund the company’s operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for the period anticipated; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company’s business and operations; as well as the other risks and uncertainties set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in subsequent filings the company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the company’s views as of the date hereof. The company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the company’s views to change. However, while the company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date on which they were made.

Investors and Media Contact
Maren Killackey
Generation Bio
mkillackey@generationbio.com
857-371-4638